ABSTRACT

Bringing into conversation classic themes of scalar play, risk, and ambiguity in the anthropology of hospitality with the focus on scalar movement and growth at the heart of the concept of ‘escalation’, this paper explores the social mechanics of a sudden change of scale, where the terms of (welcome or unwelcome) exchange are abruptly escalated with expected and unexpected consequences for all involved. Tracing how expectations of hospitality are niftily escalated by an uninvited guest in a Moroccan household, I focus on the conditions and consequences of the ‘change of change’ of escalations, where an abrupt change of scale can radically transform situations and events. Attending to the complex scalar work of a specific escalation act, I trace the constitutive ambiguity of hospitality and the conceptual openness it requires.

摘要

讨论了待客人类学中标量游戏，风险和歧义的经典主题，并重点关注“升级”概念核心的标量运动和增长，本文探讨了规模突然变化的社会机制， （欢迎或不欢迎）交换的条款突然升级，给所有相关人员带来预期和意想不到的后果。我追踪摩洛哥住户中一位不速之客如何对好客的期望如何升级，我着眼于升级的“变化变化”的条件和后果，在这种情况下，规模的突然变化可以从根本上改变情况和事件。考虑到特定升级行为的复杂标量工作，我追溯了款待的构成性歧义及其所要求的概念开放性。