The Concept of the Fetish
Donald L. Donham
Chapter from the book: Donham, D. 2018. The Erotics of History: An Atlantic African Example.
Part of
Chapter from the book: Donham, D. 2018. The Erotics of History: An Atlantic African Example.
This chapter provides a brief overview of the concept of the fetish. The author considers Pietz’s groundbreaking study of the history of the term fetish. From its origin among Portuguese traders on the West African coast, fetishism made a remarkable migration to Western social theory. Following this, the author discusses Marx’s usage of the term in commodity fetishism. Lastly, the chapter considers the concept of fetishism among late nineteenth-century sexologists, starting with Binet and Krafft-Ebing and culminating in the writings of Freud.
Donham, D. 2018. The Concept of the Fetish. In: Donham, D, The Erotics of History. California: University of California Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.45.c
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Published on March 9, 2018