Notion Of Gift Research Articles

Gifts and testimonies: sharing of experiences and memories among mothers of children with complex health conditions

The American online journal Complex Child, written by and for mothers of complex children, has documented an important collection of personal experiences since 2008. We analyzed 126 editions of the journal, in which our approach was to search in the writings for positive (and thus counterhegemonic) meanings, based on an experience that has found little room in the social imaginary except for that of personal tragedy. Assuming the position of these mothers as politically and historically situated, we identified the dimension of testimonies. Marcel Mauss' theory of the gift, as well as the notion of social suffering in Veena Das, provide this study's theoretical framework, organized in essay format. After organizing and reading the collection in light of our references, we identified four niches for discussion. The maternal constructions of happiness appear to be grouped around the ideas of "gift" and "legacy". The notion of gift is associated with gains originating from the existence of (and care for) the complex child, while the idea of legacy refers mainly to a child or youngster who has passed away. Once the mother can see her child and the opportunities from caring for her child as gifts, she feels a practically imperious need to give back to the world.

Oggetti musicali, produzione di identità e interazione sociale

Besides sound, the essence of music is inherent in the materiality of the objects that graphically represent, concretely produce, and ideally describe that sound: books, instruments, paintings. The history and didactics of music, therefore, must also include these objects among its research and teaching contents, especially if these are aimed at illustrating the meaning and role of music in a specific era or environment. With a methodological support from anthropological studies on the notion of gift, on the social meaning of collecting, and on the symbolic functions of objects owned, requested or donated, this study probes into the hermeneutic effectiveness of this perspective by specifically investigating the musical collecting of the Duke of Urbino, Guidubaldo II Della Rovere. The study reveals how much the Duke's interests for musical objects have contributed to define his identity and his role in relations with foreign gentlemen of his time.

Barclay’s Gift via ΧΑΡΙΣ: Grace and Race/ Place from St. Paul to King Jr.

In this article, Dr. John Barclay’s work in Pauline studies and particularly his research on the ancient notion of gift (charis [χάρις]) will be used to inform the modern social—and really the theological—predicament of race and place for the church of Jesus Christ. While reviews and reflections of Barclay’s work have focused on the author’s place in the so-called New Perspective and intertestamental understandings of soteriological constructs in the NT, his theological utility for systematics engaging in the social sciences, ethics and practical theology have largely remained unexplored. Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., famously opined, ‘We must face the fact that…the church is still the most segregated major institution…’ With this in mind, Barclay offers a genuine gift to our understanding of charis, which has implications for the post-segregated church today as she finds herself in a racialized world of brokenness and disparity. This paper will aim to creatively explore the theological utility of Barclay’s work in this intersection of race and place for the church, as she bears witness to the gracious gift of God in Christ.

Encountering the Religious Other: Challenges to Rahner's Transcendental Project

Fruitful interreligious encounter is the meeting of human beings, and calls for a metaphysics, a common humanum in order to proceed to dialogue. Rahner's transcendental method could serve as an important tool for entering into interreligious encounter. It offers a metaphysics that in its apophatic aspects has resonances with some forms of postmetaphysical thought, particularly the notion of gift. The author here pursues this idea but only after considering some critiques of Rahner's transcendental project.

Magic of the gift in the workplace: Reply to Dodlova and Yudkevich

The article is a reply to M. Dodlova and M. Yudkevich. In their recent paper they undertake an attempt to use the notion of gift in the analysis of principal–agent relationship and to generalize the idea of gift in order to obtain a theory of gift exchange in the workplace. However, the analysis suggested lacks conceptual clarity and rests upon false presuppositions regarding the nature of gift. As a result, authors draw erroneous conclusions and fall victims of the magic of the gift. This short reply points to these deficiencies and suggests some ideas for alternative approaches to the analysis of certain phenomena observed in the workplace.

Gift as God — God as Gift?

While the notion of gift has received much scholarly attention in recent philosophical discussion, theology appears as being too strongly dependent on philosophy by being oblivious of its own resources within the rich theological tradition concerning the Trinitarian community of loving gift exchange. After considering the possibility of a transition from a faith-informed phenomenology to phenomenologically inspired theology, the essay examines two early tests cases, Hilary of Poitiers and Augustine of Hippo, where the relationship these authors saw between gift and love within the life of the economic and the immanent Trinity can be archeologically traced.

‘Gifts’ in mentoring: mentees' reflections on an academic development program

The literature concerning formal and informal mentoring relationships commonly focuses on mentors giving and mentees receiving certain benefits. This paper gives voice to mentees’ reflections on their participation in a formal mentoring program. It extends the literature by identifying and examining the notion of gift in mentoring. Through analysis of personal reflections and interview data, elements of gift are explored ‐ obligation, reciprocity and gratitude. Recognition that in the mentoring relationship the mentee can make meaningful ‘return’ to the mentor is not commonly acknowledged, and stands to strengthen such relationships. This in turn can underpin the success of such programs and guide academic developers considering their introduction. Les travaux scientifiques qui étudient les interactions qui se nouent dans la relation de mentorat, que celle‐ci soit formelle ou informelle, mettent principalement en évidence les apports des mentors et les bénéfices qu'en retirent les mentorés. Dans cet article, nous avons choisi de donner la parole aux «mentorés» et de leur demander leur avis à propos de leur participation à un programme qui visait explicitement à organiser un mentorat. En ce sens, cet article se démarque des travaux antérieurs en identifiant et examinant la notion de «dons» dans le mentorat. L'analyse des réflexions personnelles et des données d'entretiens qualitatifs amènent à identifier certains éléments associés au «don», tels que l'obligation, la réciprocité et la gratitude. Le fait que, dans la relation de mentorat, le «mentoré» puisse aussi fournir un retour significatif au mentor n'est pas reconnu facilement, alors que cela pourrait renforcer de telles relations. Dés lors, les conseillers pédagogiques devraient être attentifs à mieux tenir compte de ces résultats pour garantir le succès de tels programmes.

Glimpsing Grace Phenomenologically: Prevenience and Posteriority

Grace is a fundamental theological category. In the history of theology it has been the focal point of theological argument. In postmodernity, with the proliferation of new articulations of notions of gift and donation (Marion) and the deconstruction of the sign (Derrida), as well as fresh understandings of the relation between freedom and responsibility (Levinas), the theology of grace may find a new language and grammar in which to be spoken. Largely, that voice will be both phenomenological and metaphysical. This article focuses on the notion of grace as prevenient (gratia praeveniens) and juxtaposes this with the notion of the `posteriority of the anterior' (Levinas).

The gift in therapy

Abstract This paper explores the meaning of the gift in therapy, of gift as what is given, and the various forms and meanings of giving. Its significance within various forms of exchange systems such as the commercial trade and gift exchange is explored and related to the therapeutic environment. The gift and giving are seen to occupy a strange place (event horizon might describe it better) that intersects the possible and impossible of meaning and any means–ends enterprise. Insofar as it becomes an indeterminate or impossible “thing,” the notion of gift as thing is also considered in terms of philosophical and psychoanalytic writing.