Critical thinking term paper of anthropological concept: Kula ring and Commodity exchange in our society

Critical thinking term paper of anthropological concept: Kula ring and Commodity exchange in our society

Name

Lecturer

Course

Date

Kula Ring and Commodity Exchange in Our Society

 An empirical analysis of the works of Malinowski reveals that the classic kula ring possesses two distinct characteristics. One of the most fundamentally distinct features of the kula ring is the element of ranks that were given to the valuables. These ranks were based on a commodity’s invisible quality, which allowed people of equal stature to trade amongst themselves whilst locking out those of lesser stature. In this manner, the kula ring allowed the sanctity of the items that were being traded to remain pure, thus making it impossible for people to trade haphazardly. Indeed, the existence of such a quality ushered in the element of bartering since one had to acquire kula ring that possessed a higher value. In addition, the classic kula ring also ensured that not everybody had the privilege of becoming a member. For this reason, it was necessary for them to take part in the lower levels of the trade’s exchange before they could be offered an opportunity to join. After the exchange, one party would be counting loses as another one would grow richer; however, the dynamics of the kula ring ensured that the debt and the imbalance would rectify itself courtesy of another exchange (Malinowski: 98). In other words, the dictates of the kula ring ensured that the Trobriand Islanders would attempt to outdo one another with regards to being nice by offering more than the other party, even when they were cognizance of their shortfall.

The above-mentioned features of the kola ring are the antithesis of the basic commodity exchange in our society. Given the nature of kula ring vis-a-vis the first feature, its express purpose is to create a person’s name within a society. Thus, the underlying cultural value with the concepts of “nobility” and “honor” (Malinowski: 89) override everything else during the formal exchange ceremony. However, when it comes to the basic commodity exchange, hard bargaining forms the underlying principle. Further, the basic commodity exchange absolutely acts as a function of economy. As already mentioned, the concept of reciprocity dominated the kula ring trade. Malinowski subtly refers to reciprocity as a form of commodity that inalienably belongs to a person and it will eventually get back to them since the entire trade is based on reciprocity. However, Malinowski’s conception of kula trade is inconsistent with the one that is practiced at commodity exchange. In the latter, the free market economics reigns supreme wherein the desire to optimize profits in the form of pleasure, comfort and possessions, otherwise known as utilities, supplant the desire for reciprocity. In other words, in the basic commodity, the interactions between humans as well as their aspirations can only be subjected to economic terms. In fact, the exchange of goods in the basic commodity exchange in our society lacks personal or social considerations, which is a fundamental tenet of reciprocity as witnessed in the kula ring.

Moreover, Malinowski and Mauss have discussed gift economy and from their expositions, kula ring could simply be one such economy. In both their works, they consider the gift economy as an important social system that impacts the religious, political, legal and economic spheres of society and consequently accomplish fundamental purposes in their continuity and development. Gift economies affect social order via their three quintessential elements including its symbolism and rituals, its norm of reciprocity, as well as its social distinction. By establishing a hierarchy in the system, creating social connections, and fashioning coalescing traditions, social order abound because of gift-giving. This claim is reinforced by both Malinowski and Mauss when they posit that primitive societies have economic lives that are predicated upon gifts leading social hierarchies, cultural rituals and reciprocal associations.

In addition to Mauss and Malinowski, Richard Borshay Lee, in his book “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari”, highlights the social relationship between the Bushmen particularly with regard to the Christmas celebration. There are uncanny similarities between the three authors’ works since all of them canvass the social lives of what one would consider primitive societies. In Malinowski’s work, the Trobrianders and their primitive social interactions are discussed with regard to how they conduct their kula ring business. Marcel Mauss, in his work, examines the concept of the gift in what he considers archaic societies. He states that in gift-giving in such societies, “…The object of the exchange was to produce a friendly feeling between the two persons concerned, and unless it did this, it failed its purpose” (Mauss: 18). Further, Lee narrates his interaction with the Bushmen during what was supposed to be one of the most important occasions of a calendar year: Christmas (Lee: 1). In all these works, the authors are able to reveal the societal order that exists in the three societies that they have analyzed. For instance, the kula ring involves the elements of trust and of a sort of commercial honor, as the equivalence between gift and counter-gift cannot be strictly enforced. Also, the Kula presents a type of intertribal relationship of unprecedented magnitude; however, Bushmen’s potluck culture and their culture of distorting under a scarcity of protein sources has a similarity with Kula ring as a “gift exchanging” to keep social order. In this case, gift within Bushmen’s society would be meat sharing.

Critical thinking term paper of anthropological concept: Kula ring and Commodity exchange in our society

Creative Writing Paper

 

Write carefully crafted a short essay (Max 840 words long)

Font: Times New Roman

Size: 12

 

1. Use Office/Word; run its word count command and put this number down at

the end of each essay. It’s important not to go either under or over the word

limit.

 

2. Mark absolutely clearly which essay prompts you are selecting, either by noting

the number at the opening of each response, or by typing out the question

itself. (Do not include this question in your word count however.)

 

Important tips as you draft your responses:

1. Use specific examples/evidence drawn from the readings to substantiate your

points in each response.

2. Dive into answering the prompt; no need for intro and conclusion paragraphs.

Remember this is a short answer response, not an actual essay.

3. When citing the course readings, use this simple in-text format: (Gudeman: 21;

or, Mauss: 48). No need to include Works Cited or Bibliography.

4. Be prudent in your use of quotations. Where possible, paraphrase and cite as

above. Save quotations for specially stressing a point you are already making

yourself in your own prose. In other words, it is best to use quotes to underline

your own logic, rather than to take a step for you in the logic of your essay.

(TurnItIn is enabled and which catch such plagiarism).

 

 

Prompt:

 

Drawing on Malinowski and Mauss, identify two distinguishing

characteristics of the classic kula ring and articulate how each makes the

kula fundamentally distinct from commodity exchange in our society.

Also incorporate in your essay a discussion of how the kula is simply one of

many possible forms of gift economy.

In addition to Malinowski and Mauss, find similarities or differences and compare Richard Borshay Lee’s reading “Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” with Malinowski and Mauss in your response here.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource