This review article focuses on two aspects of Lévi-Strauss’ ex change theory: temporal dimension and gender. First, we examine its diachronic dimension to argue that Lévi-Strauss’ exchange theory is far from being static. Its primary interest is evolutionary, regardless of how much Lévi-Strauss distances himself from evolutionism of the 19th century as a paradigm. His analyses of kinship that attempt to identify elementary structures are meant to shed light on the origins of human culture. Although Lévi-Strauss uses different methodology than other scholars interested in socio-cultural evolution, his treatment of the term homology, discussions of primatology and origins of culture suggest his deep interest in long-term process. Second, we examine the critiques of Lévi-Strauss’ analytical treatment of women as passive objects of exchange among men. Through the discussion of feminine agency, personhood, sexuality, and other forms of exchange of human beings, we argue that Lévi-Strauss’ exchange of women has to be understood in its historical context. He grants only limited agency to women but his approach is definitely not based on commodification of women. In contrast, the relational nature of persons as signs refutes such logic. We conclude that Lévi-Strauss is still a source of inspiration for anthropology regardless of the decades of post-structuralist criticism. and Daniel Sosna, Jitka Kotalová.
The aim of the present paper is to analyse briefly the complicated references to musical composition in the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss. In his monumental tetralogy entitled Mythologiques, Lévi-Strauss considers the musical composition as a paradigm for structural analysis of myths. In this respect, the author compares Lévi-Strauss’ position with that of Pierre Schaeffer whose project of the “concrete music” is strongly criticised by Lévi-Strauss. In the second part of the text, Lévi-Strauss’ structural analysis of Wagner’s operas are examined, as well as the criticism ad dressed to Lévi-Strauss by Jean-Jacques Nattiez - universalist pretension and vagueness of the method based upon binary oppositions seems to represent weak points of Lévi-Strauss’ impressive effort to set new bases for human sciences. and Josef Fulka.