The Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-Century England

The Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-Century England

Department

English

Document Type

Book

Files

Description

Offering a variety of disciplinary perspectives, The Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-Century England analyzes the long-overlooked role of gift exchange in literary texts, cultural documents, and economic relations in the period from 1660-1800. Contributors argue that the gift was instrumental to the workings of eighteenth-century society: it supported the phenomenal rise of charities, explained the increasingly complicated trade relations, enforced conventions of obligation and social hierarchies, and both strengthened and challenged the emergence of a market economy. Building upon the works of recent theorists, these essays provide innovative readings of how gift transactions shaped the institutions and practices that gave this era its distinctive identity.

ISBN

978-0230608290

Publication Date

2009

Publisher

Palgrave Macmillan

City

New York, NY

Keywords

John Locke

Disciplines

English Language and Literature | European History

The Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-Century England

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