Marcel Mauss

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/marcel-mauss

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Marcel Mauss born?May 10, 1872
2. Where was Marcel Mauss born?Épinal, France
3. When did Marcel Mauss die?February 10, 1950 (age 77)
4. Who was Marcel Mauss?Marcel Mauss was a French thinker who studied why people give gifts and how societies work.
5. What is Marcel Mauss famous for?He wrote the essay "The Gift" that explains how giving gifts creates social bonds.

Total Prestations: Complex systems of exchange involving gifts, services, and spiritual offerings that create enduring social bonds and obligations.
Social Facts: External patterns of behavior and belief that shape individual actions and are characteristic of a society.
Reciprocity: The social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action, a core mechanism for building and maintaining social relationships.