Values and Valuables
From the Sacred to the Symbolic
Contributions by Maurice Godelier, James A. Egan, Françoise Dussart, Colin Danby, Georgia L. Fox, Mahir Saul, Beth E. Notar, Lynne Milgram, Kathleen Pickering, David Mushinski, Eric J. Arnould, Carolyn Folkman Curasi, Linda L. Price, Jim Weil, Brian Moeran, Melanie Rock Edited by Cynthia Werner, Duran Bell
Publication date:
13 January 2004Length of book:
352 pagesPublisher
AltaMira PressISBN-13: 9780759105447
In this exciting new volume from the Society for Economic Anthropology, Cynthia Werner and Duran Bell bring together a group of distinguished anthropologists and economists to discuss the complex ways in which different cultures imbue material objects with symbolic qualities whose value cannot be reduced to material or monetary equivalents. Objects with sacred or symbolic qualities are valued quite differently than mundane objects, and the contributors to this volume set out to unravel how and why. In the first of three sections, the authors consider the extent to which sacred objects can or cannot be exchanged between individuals (e.g., ancestral objects, land, dreaming stories). In the next section, contributors discuss the value and power of markets, money, and credit. They consider theoretical models for understanding money transactions, competing currencies, and the power of credit among marginalized groups around the globe. The last section examines the ways in which contemporary people bestow symbolic value on some objects (e.g., family heirlooms, pre-Columbian artifacts, fashion goods) and finally how some individuals themselves are valued in monetary and symbolic ways. With its emphasis on the interplay of cultural and economic values, this volume will be a vital resource for economists and economic anthropologists. Published in cooperation with the Society for Economic Anthropology. Visit their web page.
Values and Valuables is a broad collection that builds on the insights of Marcel Mauss, Karl Polanyi, and especially Maurice Godelier to explore the non-economic aspects of economic relations. Exploring exchanges from those among foraging societies to the Antiques Road Show these papers examine how the local and global are connected in important ways that are seldom analyzed in their entirety by conventional economics. The authors show how symbolic and materialist analyses can be combined synergistically to develop a deeper understanding of how societies work.