Difference between revisions of "Hospitality"

From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to search
m (Text replacement - "http://" to "https://")
 
(10 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
[[Image:lighterstill.jpg]]
 
[[Image:lighterstill.jpg]]
[[Image:Meister der Ikone der Trinität 001.jpg|right|frame|<center>[[Abraham]] offering hospitality to [[angel]]s</center>]]
+
[[Image:Meister der Ikone der Trinität 001.jpg|right|frame]]
  
'''Hospitality''' refers to the relationship process between a guest and a host, and it also refers to the act or practice of being hospitable, that is, the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers, with liberality and goodwill.  Hospitality frequently refers to the hospitality industry jobs for [[hotel]]s, [[restaurant]]s, [[casino]]s, [[catering]], [[resort]]s, clubs and any other service position that deals with [[tourist]]s.
 
  
Hospitality is also known as the act of generously providing care and kindness to whomever is in need.
 
  
 
+
'''Hospitality''' refers to the relationship between guests and their host. It refers to the act or practice of being hospitable, that is, the generous reception and caring for guests, visitors, or strangersWhile hospitality may refer to the hospitality industry and services that deal with [[tourist]]s, the archaic meaning of hospital is a "hospice for travelers or pilgrims" that relates to hospitality as the act of providing care and kindness to travelers in need.
==Hospitality==
 
The word hospitality derives from the Latin hospes that is from hostis, which originally meant a 'stranger' and came to take on the meaning of the enemy or 'hostile stranger' (hostilis) + pets (polis, poles, potentia) to have power. Furthermore, the word hostire means equilize/compensate.
 
 
 
Telemachus is a complete stranger for Nestor, however he was hosted and treated more than warmly. In the Homeric ages, hospitality was under the protection of Zeus. The God of the Gods. For that reason Zeus was also attributed with the title 'Xenios Zeus' ('xenos' means stranger). The semantic behind this was to highlight the fact that hospitality for Ancient Greeks was of the utmost importance. A stranger passing outside a Greek house, could be invited inside the house by the family. The host washed the strangers feet, offered him/her food and wine and only after he/she was feeling at comfortably could be asked to tell his/her name.
 
 
 
After having welcomed Telemachus, Nestor asks his unknown guest to introduce himself to find out that he was the son of Odysseus. By that time, the man in front of him was a complete stranger, a hostis as described in the etymological analysis of hospitality at the beginning. Nonetheless, Telemachus was equilized with his host. Another meaning that is included in the etymology of hospitality. Note also that one of the Nestor's sons slept on a bed close by Telemachus to take care that he should not suffer any harm. This means that hospitality for Ancient Greeks include also the idea of protection. Lastly, Nestor put a chariot and horses at Telemachus' disposal so that he could travel the land route from Pylos to Sparta in two days, having as charioteer Nestor's son Pisistratus. The last element of hospitality as can be realized is guidance.
 
 
 
Hospitality then is about compensating or equalizing a stranger to the host, making him feel protected and taken care of, and at the end of his hosting, guiding him to his next destination.
 
  
 
==Contemporary usage==
 
==Contemporary usage==
Contemporary usage seems different from historical uses that lend it personal connotations. Today's hospitality conjures images of throwing good parties, gracious hosts entertaining, [[etiquette]], [[Martha Stewart]] or even [[talk shows]], or, the hospitality services industry as it relates to the [[entertainment]] and [[tourism]] [[business]]. On the other hand, hospitality used to be, and still is, a serious duty, responsibility, or ethic. [[Hospitality ethics]] is a discipline that studies this usage of hospitality.
+
Contemporary usage seems different from the historical use emphasizing personal attitudes. Today's hospitality may pertain to the staging of parties, hosts entertaining, or the hospitality industry as part of the [[entertainment]] industry. In contrast, hospitality traditionally has been associated with a sense of devotion to those appearing as 'strangers'.  
 
+
<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Hospitality''''', follow [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Hospitality '''''this link'''''].</center>
In the western context, with its dynamic tension between Athens and Jerusalem, two phases can be distinguished with a very progressive transition: a hospitality based on an individually felt sense of duty, and one based on "official" institutions for organized but anonymous social services: special places for particular types of "strangers" such as the poor, orphan(s), ill, alien, criminal, etc. Perhaps this progressive institutionalization can be aligned to the transition between [[Middle Ages]] and [[Renaissance]] ([[Ivan Illich]], ''The Rivers North of the Future'').
 
 
 
 
==Biblical and Middle Eastern==
 
==Biblical and Middle Eastern==
In Middle Eastern Culture, it was considered a cultural norm to take care of the strangers and foreigners living among you. These norms are reflected in many Biblical commands and examples.[http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Exodus%2022:21;23:9;%20Leviticus%2019:10,33,34;24:22;%20Deuteronomy%2010:18]
+
In Middle Eastern Culture, it was considered a cultural norm to take care of the strangers and foreigners living among you. These norms are reflected in many Biblical commands and examples.[https://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Exodus%2022:21;23:9;%20Leviticus%2019:10,33,34;24:22;%20Deuteronomy%2010:18]
 
 
Perhaps the most extreme example is provided in Genesis. Lot provides hospitality to a group of angels (who he thinks are only men); when a mob tries to rape them, Lot goes so far as to offer his own daughters as a substitute, saying "Don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." (Genesis 19:8, NIV). 
 
  
The obligations of both guests are stern. The bond is formed by eating salt under the roof, and is so strict that an Arab story tells of a thief who tasted something to see if it was sugar, and on realizing it was salt, put back all that he had taken and left.
+
An example is provided in Genesis where Lot provides hospitality to a group of angels (who he thinks are men); when a mob tries to rape them. Lot goes so far as to offer his own daughters as a substitute, saying "Don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." (Genesis 19:8, NIV).
  
 
==Further reading==
 
==Further reading==
Line 32: Line 18:
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
*[http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/substance/v033/33.2oscherwitz.pdf muse.jhu.edu]  
+
*[https://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/substance/v033/33.2oscherwitz.pdf muse.jhu.edu]  
*[http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=210359 journals.cambridge.org]
+
*[https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=210359 journals.cambridge.org]
*[http://www.hospitalityethics.com Hospitality ethics]
+
*[https://www.hospitalityethics.com Hospitality ethics]
  
 
[[Category:Religion]]
 
[[Category:Religion]]
 
[[Category:Sociology]]
 
[[Category:Sociology]]

Latest revision as of 23:56, 12 December 2020

Lighterstill.jpg

Meister der Ikone der Trinität 001.jpg


Hospitality refers to the relationship between guests and their host. It refers to the act or practice of being hospitable, that is, the generous reception and caring for guests, visitors, or strangers. While hospitality may refer to the hospitality industry and services that deal with tourists, the archaic meaning of hospital is a "hospice for travelers or pilgrims" that relates to hospitality as the act of providing care and kindness to travelers in need.

Contemporary usage

Contemporary usage seems different from the historical use emphasizing personal attitudes. Today's hospitality may pertain to the staging of parties, hosts entertaining, or the hospitality industry as part of the entertainment industry. In contrast, hospitality traditionally has been associated with a sense of devotion to those appearing as 'strangers'.

For lessons on the topic of Hospitality, follow this link.

Biblical and Middle Eastern

In Middle Eastern Culture, it was considered a cultural norm to take care of the strangers and foreigners living among you. These norms are reflected in many Biblical commands and examples.[1]

An example is provided in Genesis where Lot provides hospitality to a group of angels (who he thinks are men); when a mob tries to rape them. Lot goes so far as to offer his own daughters as a substitute, saying "Don't do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof." (Genesis 19:8, NIV).

Further reading

Of Hospitality - Jacques Derrida, translated by Rachel Bowlby (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000).

References