الصلاة

by Marcel Mauss (ترجمة: محمد الحاج سالم)

"There is much of interest in this well-presented volume. Mauss's careful discussion of differences among types of oral rites - incantations, spells, invocations - remains instructive." · Social Anthropology "Anthropologists, sociologists and theologians will be grateful for the first English translation of this important early text by Marcel Mauss . . . The notes edited by Robert Parkin and some 'Concluding Anthropological Reflections' by Howard Morphy make this a very valuable item for Mauss scholarship." · Reviews in Religion and Theology "Mauss's foray into the issue of prayer, though inchoate, is as unexpected as it is significant . . . Pickering has produced a highly scholarly and indispensable volume . . . Impeccably translated . . . this will be the standard reference for Mauss on the topic of prayer." · New Blackfriars Marcel Mauss (1872-1950) never completed his Doctoral thesis on prayer. Yet his scarcely mentioned introduction (Books I and II) of 176 pages and privately printed in 1909, can be seen as some of his most important work. His argument that much of prayer is a social act will be of great interest to anthropologists, sociologists and theologians. Here, the first English translation to be published, is preceded by a general introduction by W.S.F.Pickering and finally a specific commentary on Mauss's use of ethnographic material. W.S.F. Pickering, British Centre for Durkheimian Studies, Oxford University; postscript by Howard Morphy, University of Canberra. Published in Association with the Durkheim Press.

Genres: Philosophy, Anthropology

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

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

Like many members of Année Sociologique Mauss was attracted to socialism, particularly that espoused by Jean Jaurès. 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 as le Populaire, l'Humanité and le Mouvement Socialiste, the last in collaboration with Georges Sorel.

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.

The years of World War I were absolutely devastating for Mauss. Many of his friends and colleagues died in the war, and Durkheim died shortly before its end. The postwar years were also difficult politically for Mauss. Durkheim had made changes to school curricula 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 Collège de France. He actively fought against anti-semitism and racial politics both before and after World War II. He died in 1950.

Reviews

[Ahmed Alkiyumi · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب بحثي عميق بتعليق حفري من د محمدالحاح سالم، قرأته للمرة الثانية بغرض التمعن أكثر..وهو من كتابين الاول في موضوع الدراسة والمنهج والثاني طبيعة الطقوس الشفهية الأساسية. ناقش الصلاة بتجرد تام عن انتمائه من حيث جذورها الدينية وآثارها الاجتماعية والسياسية. كذلك تعمق في طقوس بعض الأمم الغابرة وعقائدها وأساطيرها.. وخصوصا قارة أستراليا..

[Abdulmalik · Rating 5 out of 5]

أعتقد أنه كتاب أكاديمي بحت يتطلب قراءات مسبقة في هذا الباب وإلا سيكون من الصعوبة بمكان استيعاب كل فحوى الكتاب -كما حصل معي-
وإلا عمومًا فالكتاب جيد في مقدمته حيث أستعرض المؤلف مارسيل الصلاة وطبيعتها بتأصيل علمي صرف مع دراسة
مخصصة لأستراليا

الترجمة ممتازة ولي عودة أخرى للكتاب بغرض فهمه بشكل أعمق