Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance: Interdisciplinary Dance Research in the American South (Performance Philosophy)

This book investigates how Pragmatist philosophy as a philosophical method contributes to the understanding and practice of interdisciplinary dance research. It uses the author's own practice-based research project, __Later Rain__, to illustrate this. __Later Rain__ is a post-dramatic dance theater work that engages primarily with issues in the philosophy of religion and socio-political philosophy. It focuses on ecstatic states that arise in Appalachian charismatic Pentecostal church services, states characterized by dancing, paroxysms, shouting, and speaking in tongues (glossolalia). Research for this work is interdisciplinary as it draws on studio practice, ethnographic field work, cultural history, Pentecostal history and theology, folk aesthetics, anthropological understandings of ecstatic religious rituals, and dance history regarding acclaimed works that have sought to present aspects of religious ecstasy on stage; Doris Humphrey's The Shakers (1931), Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture (2012), Martha Clarke’s Angel Reapers (2015) and Ralph Lemon’s Geography trilogy (2005). The project thereby demonstrates a process model of dance philosophy, showing how philosophy and dance artistry intertwine in a specific creative process. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Sources: Beyond the Pale (Eric Mullis)....Pages 1-32 Pragmatist Methods: Experimental Inquiry, Somaesthetics, and Performance Praxis (Eric Mullis)....Pages 33-58 Religious History: Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh (Eric Mullis)....Pages 59-96 Dance History: The Rolling Deep (Eric Mullis)....Pages 97-118 Ethnographic Research: Signs Follow Them That Believe (Eric Mullis)....Pages 119-148 Movement Research: The Most Originally Mine (Eric Mullis)....Pages 149-175 Religious Experience: William James, Ecstasy, and Fundamentalism (Eric Mullis)....Pages 177-205 Conclusions: On Pragmatist Performance Philosophy (Eric Mullis)....Pages 207-240 Back Matter ....Pages 241-247