MACMILLAN 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.                                       Review “Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance undoubted value is that if offers an example of how to expand the toolbox for an interdisciplinary research work on dance that fully capitalizes philosophical thought. … Mullis contributes to affirming that performance goes beyond presenting philosophical content and develops an effective theory-in-process methodological approach to sustain performance research and generate practical and theoretical knowledge extremely useful for the artistic process.” (Susanne Franco, European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy, Vol. 13 (1), 2021) Review “An entirely original and carefully crafted exploration of ecstatic embodiment in Appalachian Pentecostalism. Richly nuanced, this remarkable study places Pragmatist philosophy in direct relationship to experimental performance with stunning results. Mullis has created an essential offering for anyone interested in dance, ethnography, philosophy, theology, or the promise of pluralism as a method for engaging interdisciplinary inquiry.” (Thomas F. DeFrantz, Professor of Dance, Theater Studies, Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, Computational Media, Arts & Cultures at Duke University and author of Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture (Oxford University Press, 2006) and, with Philipa Rothfield, editor of Choreography and Corporeality: Relay in Motion (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016)) “This is a fantastically original study of ecstatic Pentecostal spiritualism wrapping Pragmatist philosophy, dance and choreographic theory, dramaturgical considerations and autobiography compellingly into a set of narratives that make a strong case for attending to the borderless friction between trance, possession and folk culture in American Appalachia. A timely book that makes important new inroads in interdisciplinary performance research.” (Kélina Gotman, Reader in Theatre and Performance Studies at King’s College London and Hölderlin Guest Professor in Comparative Dramaturgy at the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt and author of Choreomania: Dance and Disorder (Oxford University Press, 2018)) “In Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance: Dance Research in the American South, Eric Mullis intertwines practical, dramaturgical, and ethnographic investigations to develop an in-depth theoretical account of the evolution of knowledge in the artistic process. This book advances an interdisciplinary approach to an individual artistic journey into ecstatic embodiment and thereby develops a thorough analysis of the relationship between aesthetics and epistemology. This impressive work contributes to the study of knowledg