Edited by Laura da Graca, University of Buenos Aires – National University of La Plata, and Andrea Zingarelli, National University of La Plata
In Studies on Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production British and Argentinian historians analyse the Asiatic, Germanic, peasant, slave, feudal, and tributary modes of production by exploring historical processes and diverse problems of Marxist theory. The emergence of feudal relations, the origin of the medieval craftsman, the functioning of the law of value and the conditions for historical change are some of the problems analysed. The studies treat an array of pre-capitalist social formations: Chris Wickham works on medieval Iceland and Norway, John Haldon on Byzantium, Carlos García Mac Gaw on the Roman Empire, Andrea Zingarelli on ancient Egypt, Carlos Astarita and Laura da Graca on medieval León and Castile, and Octavio Colombo on the Castilian later Middle Ages.
Contributors include: Chris Wickham, John Haldon, Carlos Astarita, Carlos García Mac Gaw, Octavio Colombo, Laura da Graca, and Andrea Zingarelli.
Biographical note
Laura da Graca, Ph.D. (2005), is Professor of Medieval History at the University of La Plata (Argentina). She has published several works on medieval Castile, including “Poder político y dinámica feudal. Procesos de diferenciación social en distintas formas señoriales (siglos XIV-XVI)” (Valladolid, 2009).
Andrea Zingarelli, Ph.D. (2003), is Professor of Ancient Near Eastern History and Egyptology at the University of La Plata. She has published several works on ancient Egyptian society and economy, including “Trade and Market in New Kingdom Egypt” (Oxford, 2010).
Readership
All interested in Marxist theory, modes of production and social formations, pre-capitalist societies, historical change, belief systems, Scandinavia, Byzantium, Rome, ancient Egypt and medieval Spain.
Table of contents
Preface , Carlos Astarita
Introduction to Studies on Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production: Debates, Controversies and Lines of Argument, Laura da Graca and Andrea Zingarelli
1. Asiatic Mode of Production: Considerations on Ancient Egypt, Andrea Zingarelli
2. The Slave Roman Economy and the Plantation System, Carlos García Mac Gaw
3. Origins of the Medieval Craftsman, Carlos Astarita
4. Passages to Feudalism in Medieval Scandinavia, Chris Wickham
5. Peasant Mode of Production and the Evolution of Clientelar Relations, Laura da Graca
6. Mode of Production, Social Action, and Historical Change: Some Questions and Issues, John Haldon
7. Simple Commodity Production and Value Theory in Late FeudalismOctavio Colombo
References
Index
