For a Critique of Language Studies from the Perspective of Gift Economy

Throughout her writings Genevieve Vaughan addresses important issues in the theory of language and communication, to the ultimate end of affecting social praxis for radical social change. Her hypothesis is that mothering/being-mothered forms a non-essentialist but fundamental core process that has been neglected by the Western view of the world. Most important is that Vaughan thematizes the mothering/being-mothered paradigm in the framework of her gift logic, which is oriented by otherness logic. Restoring such a paradigm offers new light on language, communication and human relationships, thereby contributing to recovery of the properly human in terms of gift economy values