Marcel Mauss

Marcel Mauss (May 10, 1872- February 10, 1950) was a French sociologist best known for his role in elaborating on and securing the legacy of his uncle, Émile Durkheim and the Annee Sociologique. His most famous work is The Gift, on reciprocity and gift economies among "uncivilized peoples".

Background

Mauss was born in Epinal to a Jewish family, and studied philosophy at Bordeaux, where Durkheim was teaching at the time and agregated in 1893. Instead of taking the usual route of teaching at a lycee, however, Mauss moved to Paris and took up the study of comparative religion and particularly Sanskrit. His first publication in 1896 marked the beginning of a prolific career that would produce several landmarks in the sociological literature.

Related Topics:
Epinal - Jewish - Bordeaux - Agregated - Lycee - Paris - Comparative religion - Sanskrit - 1896

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Like many members of Annee Sociologique Mauss was attracted to socialism, particularly that espoused by Jean Jaures. He was particularly active in the events of the Dreyfus affair and towards the end of the century he helped edit such left-wing papers le Populaire, l'Humanite and le Mouvement Socialiste, the last in collaboration with Georges Sorel.

Related Topics:
Annee Sociologique - Socialism - Jean Jaures - Dreyfus affair - Le Populaire - L'Humanite - Le Mouvement Socialiste - Georges Sorel

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Mauss took up a chair in the 'history of religion and uncivilized peoples' at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in 1901. It was at this time that he began drawing more and more on ethnography, and his work began increasingly to look like what we would today call anthropology.

Related Topics:
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes - 1901 - Anthropology

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The years of World War I were absolutely devastating for Mauss. Many of his friends and colleagues died in the war, and Durkheim passed away shortly before its end. The postwar years were also difficult politically for Mauss. Durkheim had made changes to school curriculums across France, and after his death a backlash against his students began. Like many other followers of Durkheim, Mauss took refuge in administration, securing Durkheim's legacy by founding institutions such as l'Institut Français de Sociologie (1924) and l'Institut d'Ethnologie in 1926. In 1931 he took up the chair of Sociology at the College de France. He actively fought against anti-semitism and racial politics both before and after WWII. He died in 1950.

Related Topics:
World War I - 1926 - 1931 - College de France - Anti-semitism - WWII

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