Property, Substance and Effect: Anthropological Essays on Persons and Things

Property, Substance and Effect collects anthropological essays examining connections between persons and things in Melanesian and British societies. The essays analyze how different cultures conceptualize ownership, exchange, and social relationships. Strathern draws on fieldwork in Papua New Guinea and contemporary British society to explore contrasts in how people understand property rights and social bonds. Her analysis moves between intellectual property debates, new reproductive technologies, and traditional gift exchange practices. The work centers on how objects and substances - from ceremonial items to bodily materials - mediate social relationships and shape cultural understandings of personhood. These case studies reveal fundamental differences in how societies construct notions of ownership, identity, and human connection. This anthropological investigation challenges Western assumptions about individuality and property while offering insights into broader questions about human nature and social organization. The comparative framework illuminates how cultural context shapes basic concepts that many take for granted.

Readers cite this book's theoretical contributions to understanding property and personhood, with academics noting its influence on anthropological perspectives of ownership and identity. Several reviews highlight the chapter on intellectual property rights and indigenous knowledge as particularly relevant. Liked: - Analysis of property relations in Melanesian societies - Commentary on Western vs non-Western concepts of ownership - Detailed ethnographic examples - Contribution to debates on intellectual property Disliked: - Dense, complex writing style that can be difficult to follow - Heavy use of academic jargon - Abstract theoretical arguments that some find hard to apply - Limited engagement with contemporary property debates Ratings: Goodreads: 4.11/5 (9 ratings) Amazon: No ratings available Google Books: No ratings available A review on Academia.edu notes: "Strathern's work demands careful reading but rewards with profound insights into how different societies conceptualize ownership and personhood."

The Gender of the Gift by Marilyn Strathern This ethnographic study of Melanesian societies examines gift exchange, personhood, and gender relations through a framework that challenges Western concepts of ownership and identity.

We Have Never Been Modern by Bruno Latour The text deconstructs the perceived separation between nature and society while exploring how humans, objects, and networks create meaning through their interconnections.

The Social Life of Things by Arjun Appadurai This collection examines how objects acquire value and meaning through their circulation in social contexts and economic exchanges.

Art and Agency by Alfred Gell This anthropological theory of art presents objects as social agents that mediate relationships and intentions between people.

How Forests Think by Eduardo Kohn This ethnography of Ecuador's Upper Amazon explores how humans and non-humans form semiotic relationships and create meaning through their interactions.

🔍 Marilyn Strathern developed many of her theories while conducting extensive fieldwork in Papua New Guinea, particularly among the Hagen people, spending over a decade studying their social relationships and gift-giving practices. 📚 The book challenges Western concepts of ownership and property by examining how Melanesian societies view relationships between people and things as fundamentally inseparable. 🎓 Published in 1999, this work significantly influenced the development of the "new materialism" movement in anthropology, which examines how objects and materials shape social relationships. 🌏 The book's analysis of Melanesian gift economies demonstrates how objects can carry parts of people's identities and social relationships, contrasting sharply with Western notions of private property. 💭 Strathern's concept of the "dividual" person (versus the Western "individual") introduced in this work has become a fundamental theoretical tool in anthropology, suggesting that persons are actually composites of relationships rather than bounded entities.