She is a prominent economic sociologist who focuses on the attribution of cultural and moral meaning to the economy. Zelizer 3 member, sociological research association, 1986present. An individual user may print out a pdf of a single chapter of a monograph in prso for personal use. Best of all, she writes of these complex matters with grace, lucidity, wit, and. My third ield of interest, intimate economies, introduced a less historical. Dalton primitive money zelizer social meaning of money three functions of money from anthr 2440 at cornell university. Arguing against this conventional wisdom, viviana zelizer, a distinguished social scientist and prizewinning author, shows how people have invented their own forms of currency, earmarking money in ways that baffle market theorists, incorporating funds into webs of friendship and family relations, and otherwise varying the process by which. A great classic from zelizer is her analysis of the social meaning of money, to which a whole section is devoted. Zelizer is lloyd cotsen 50 professor of sociology at princeton university. The social meaning of money readings in economic sociology. Indeed, it is part of the ideology of our time that money is a single. Zelizer, the purchase of intimacy find, read and cite all the.
The first time i spoke about my money research here in paris was twentyfour years ago, in june 1991. Its influence extends far beyond the steely confines of numbers, ledgers, and rational calculations. Indeed zelizers work on multiple monies and the social meaning of money has provided the basis for the bulk of recent microlevel research on money in sociology zelizer 1993, 1994, 1998. She shows how people have invented their own forms of currency, earmarking money in ways that baffle market theorists, incorporating funds into webs of friendship and family relations, and otherwise varying the process by which. Arguing against this conventional wisdom, viviana zelizer, a distinguished social scientist and prizewinning author, shows how people have invented their own forms of currency. Twenty years after viviana zelizers the social meaning of money. Explorations in the sociological thought of neil smelser, berkeley.
Culture and social structure mark the quality of money by institutionalizing controls, restrictions, and districtions in the sources, uses, modes of allocation, and even the quantity of money. Whereas economists would study a public market for its deliberate commodified exchange of money for goods and services, supply and demand, profit and loss, the social scientist observes the. Zelizer has a genius for detecting hidden order in everyday practices gently but firmly she uses her discoveries to overturn widespread beliefs in the power of money to corrupt, standardize, and depersonalize social ties. Social meanings of news takes on these deceptively simple questions through an essential collection of classic and contemporary studies by leaders in the field of mass communication. She has published books on the development of life insurance, the changing value of children, the place of money in social life and the economics of intimacy.
Dalton primitive money zelizer social meaning of money. Zelizer, 1994, the social meaning of money, chapter 1, the marking of. Zelizer and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Pin money, paychecks, poor relief, and other currencies by viviana a. The discussion focuses on the changing meaning of married womens money between the 1870s and. Zelizers work is unique in its focus on the content of relations and the process by which people encounter and interact with economic processes 1979.
Request pdf on jun 1, 2008, xiaoshuo hou and others published the social meaning of money and intimacy. In the social meaning of money, viviana zelizer steadily takes apart the idea of fungibilitythat a dollar is a dollar is a dollar. Zelizer sociologyprinceton draws on a wealth of unconventional sources etiquette guides, immigrants handbooks, newspapers, vaudeville routines, womens magazines to show that money is a manysplendored instrument with both. Zelizer overview a dollar is a dollaror so most of us believe. Indeed, it is part of the ideology of our time that money is a single, impersonal instrument that impoverishes social life by reducing social relations to cold, hard cash. Zelizer princeton university classic interpretations of the development of the modern world portray money as a key instrument in the rationalization of social life. With the publication of viviana zelizer s the social meaning of money, and about five years later geoffrey inghams the nature of money, sociology has made a quantum leap in its theorizing of money. Zelizers evidence and interpretation, though, speaks to a wider set of concerns. How culture shapes the economy 2010, the purchase of intimacy 2005, the social meaning of money. Dalton primitive money zelizer social meaning of money three. A scholars thoughtprovoking and persuasively documented challenge to the utilitarian assumption that money is simply a fungible, impersonal medium of exchange. She argues that the notion that money is a single, interchangeable, absolutely impersonal instrument zelizer 1994, p. She has also studied topics ranging from economic ethics to consumption practices.
Students of the intersection between monetary transfers and intimate social relations face a choice among three ways of analyzing that relationship. Yet, for a long time economists managed to keep monetary analysis safely constrained within technical territory. In angele christin, agnes gramain, and florence weber, money and value. The development of life insurance in the united states. In the social meaning of money, viviana zelizer steadily takes apart the idea of fungibilitythat a dollar is a dollar is a dollar she argues that the notion that money is a single, interchangeable, absolutely impersonal instrument zelizer 1994. In this way, zelizer positioned the social meaning of money to enter a conversation in economic sociology around the market and society.
Zelizer sociologyprinceton draws on a wealth of unconventional sources etiquette guides, immigrants handbooks, newspapers, vaudeville routines, womens magazines to show that money is a. Distinguished social scientist and prizewinning author viviana zelizer argues against this conventional wisdom. In your home you may well have a petty change dish for the parking meter money, a secret stash of emergency money and a piggy bank for the kids savings. Rotman zelizer born january 19, 1946 is a sociologist and the lloyd cotsen 50 professor of sociology at princeton university. Zelizer ten years ago, jerome bourdieu and johan heilbron introduced. In addition, modern money imposes an ostensibly precise and unidimensional valuation on social. Pin money, paycheck, poor relief, and other currencies. Money talks is the first book to offer a wide range of alternative and unexpected explanations of how social relations, emotions, moral concerns, and institutions shape how we create, mark, and use money.
Zelizer over the past three decades, economic sociology has been revealing how culture shapes economic life even while economic facts affect social relationships. The social meaning of money won the american sociological associations asa culture section book award in 1996. Pin money, paychecks, poor relief, and other currencies 1994, and pricing the priceless child. This work has transformed the field into a flourishing and increasingly influential discipline.
A distinguished social scientist shows what money really does for usand to us. She is the author of the purchase of intimacy, the social meaning of money, pricing the priceless child all princeton, and morals and markets. Indeed, it is part of the ideology of our time that. Money is reductively defined as the ultimate objectifier, homogenizing all qualitative distinctions into an abstract quantity. A further measure of zelizers stature is that in 2003 the asas economic sociology section named its annual book prize after her. Marx, and christine williams, editors, self, social structure, and beliefs. Zelizers groundbreaking book, the social meaning of money, the reactions it provoked and its enduring influence on both sides of. Viviana a rotman zelizer investigating changes in the public and private uses of money in the united states between the 1870s and the 1930s, and money throughout cultures and throughout history, the author concentrates on. Mills award, society for the study of social problems, for pricing the priceless child. Buy this book from karl marx to robert bellah, money has been.
The domestic production of monies allowance versus a joint account. Zelizer concentrates on domestic transactions, bestowals of gifts and charitable donations in order to show how individuals, families, governments, and businesses have all prescribed social meaning to money in ways previously unimagined. Arguing against this conventional wisdom, viviana zelizer, a distinguished social scientist and prizewinning author, shows how people have invented their own forms of. Apr 25, 2017 money talks is the first book to offer a wide range of alternative and unexpected explanations of how social relations, emotions, moral concerns, and institutions shape how we create, mark, and use money. Economics and the social meaning of money 1 2 new york. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. Arguing against this conventional wisdom, viviana zelizer, a distinguished social scientist and prizewinning author, shows how people have invented their a dollar is a. Core ideas are structured around investigation of where money comes from, and in what forms, and how strongly this affects how people see it. In zelizer s hands, money ceased to be a metaphor and an instrument of uniformity and homogeneity, and rather became a token of value through which. Zelizer s groundbreaking book, the social meaning of money, the reactions it provoked, and its enduring influence on both sides of the atlantic. This collection brings together a stellar group of international experts from multiple disciplinessociology, economics, history, law. Zelizer is the lloyd cotsen 50 professor of sociology at princeton university.
The social meaning of money viviana zelizer steadily takes apart the idea of fungibilitythat a dollar is a dollar is a dollar. Rather than applying a journalists viewpoint to answer the questions, the book starts from the premise that news is a human construction shaped by the social. This collection brings together a stellar group of international experts from multiple disciplines. Carruthers money undergirds market exchange, but the social signi. The social meaning of money princeton university press. Rotman zelizer is the lloyd cotsen 50 professor of sociology at princeton university. With the publication of viviana zelizers the social meaning of money, and about five years later geoffrey inghams the nature of money, sociology has made a quantum leap in its theorizing of money.
The essays describe how money gained from income tax. The changing social meaning and structure of domestic money, specifically married womens money in the united states, 18701930, are examined as an. In this way, zelizer positioned the social meaning of money to enter a conversation in economic sociology around the market and society, an inquiry into the power and limits of the market system. The book describes how people have invented their own forms of currency, earmarking money in ways that baffle market theorists, incorporating funds into webs of friendship and family relations, and otherwise differentiating the process by which spending and saving takes place.
The purchase of intimacy volume 25 issue 3 viviana a. What zelizer demonstrates through a startling degree of social research is that humans being humans, we have an extraordinary facility of earmarking money with specific social meanings. In zelizers hands, money ceased to be a metaphor and an instrument of uniformity and homogeneity, and rather became a token of value through which people. Whereas economists would study a public market for its deliberate commodified exchange of money for goods and services, supply and demand, profit and loss, the. Economics and the social meaning of money financial access. Since most members of society regard family life as the most important thing in their lives this should be re.
970 683 892 966 507 941 481 123 98 587 1533 11 1085 732 177 179 663 713 153 1055 538 221 1065 831 1460 17 1079 1004 913 1344 1221 59 770 793 63 962 811 1163 246 432 818 150 36 1190 1115 559