ABSTRACT
The subject of this Reader is complex and contested, so the volume starts by exploring the fundamental question: What is philanthropy? Readings here examine the definition of philanthropy, why it exists, what makes it distinctive, how it balances the public and the private, and how different scholars from different disciplinary perspectives go about studying it. It is a testament to both the complex and the mostly understudied nature of our subject that we need to start with an entire section devoted to these basic – yet revealing – questions.
