Anthropology and the Dance: Ten Lectures

Now in paperback, Anthropology and the Dance is a lively, controversial examination and discussion of theories of dance by the pioneer of the anthropology of human movement. Drid Williams's definitive text is explicitly intended for graduate students in anthropology faced with the wide spectrum of theories of human movement, including the dance, sign language, martial arts, and rituals. With its groundbreaking approach to this previously unexamined field, however, Anthropology and the Dance brings the study of human movement to readers in fields such as philosophy, psychology, sociology, ethnomusicology, library science, physical education, history, music, linguistics, dance, and dance education.

Williams examines subjects ranging from Aboriginal and African dances to the Royal Ballet, and makes a compelling case for moving beyond the Western view of the dance as mere entertainment, locating human movement firmly and irrefutably within the sphere of serious study.

Anthropology and the Dance: Ten Lectures is the thoroughly rewritten second edition of Ten Lectures on Theories of the Dance (1991). Included are a glossary of terms, indexes and notes, an updated bibliography, and an appendix, "An Exercise in Applied Personal Anthropology."