Reckoning with Spirit in the Paradigm of Performance

Reckoning with Spirit in the Paradigm of Performance

Author: Donnalee Dox

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2016-01-22

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 0472052977

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Performance has become a paradigm for analyzing contemporary culture, a pattern that structures a particular view of human interaction and experience. Performance is also widely used to better understand how we express values and ideas, including religious beliefs. Reckoning with Spirit in the Paradigm of Performance asks how the sensibilities of religious experience, which many people call spirituality, shape people's performance. When we observe people performing words, dances, music, and rituals they consider sacred, what (if any) conclusions can we draw about their experiences from what we see, read, and hear? By analyzing performances of spirituality and what people experience as "spirit," this book adds a new dimension to the paradigm of performance. Rather than reducing the spiritual dimension to either biology or culture, the book asks what such experiences might have to offer a reasoned analysis of vernacular culture. The specific performances presented are meditative dance and shamanic drumming, including descriptions of these practices and exegesis of practitioners' writings on the nature of spiritual experience and performance.


Book Synopsis Reckoning with Spirit in the Paradigm of Performance by : Donnalee Dox

Download or read book Reckoning with Spirit in the Paradigm of Performance written by Donnalee Dox and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2016-01-22 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Performance has become a paradigm for analyzing contemporary culture, a pattern that structures a particular view of human interaction and experience. Performance is also widely used to better understand how we express values and ideas, including religious beliefs. Reckoning with Spirit in the Paradigm of Performance asks how the sensibilities of religious experience, which many people call spirituality, shape people's performance. When we observe people performing words, dances, music, and rituals they consider sacred, what (if any) conclusions can we draw about their experiences from what we see, read, and hear? By analyzing performances of spirituality and what people experience as "spirit," this book adds a new dimension to the paradigm of performance. Rather than reducing the spiritual dimension to either biology or culture, the book asks what such experiences might have to offer a reasoned analysis of vernacular culture. The specific performances presented are meditative dance and shamanic drumming, including descriptions of these practices and exegesis of practitioners' writings on the nature of spiritual experience and performance.

The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions

The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions

Author: Laszlo Zsolnai

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-03-15

Total Pages: 734

ISBN-13: 1315445468

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Increasingly, it is being recognized that spirituality, defined here as "a multiform search for a transcendent meaning of life that connects them to all living beings and brings them in touch with God or ‘Ultimate Reality,’" is an aspect of almost every sphere and aspect of social life. It appears in humanity’s dealings with nature, home and community, healing, economics and business, knowledge, and education. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions is a stimulating collection that summarizes the most important issues, frameworks, discussions, and problems relating to spiritually inspired activities in different fields of social life. The contributors explore how spirituality is a part of existence and present approaches and models for professionals working in diverse areas. Presented in seven parts, the book provides a full overview of current research and practice. Part II, "Facets of spirituality," explores topics including philosophy, psychology, theology, and culture. Part III, "Nature," looks at ecology, agriculture, cities, and tourism. Part IV, "Home and community," presents chapters on various life stages, disability, gender, and culture. Part V, "Healing," examines medicine, mental and physical health, and ill-health. In Part VI, "Economy, politics, and law," contributors discuss business, leadership and the workplace, peace, and policing. Part VII, "Knowledge and education," includes chapters on science, design, fashion, literature, and the arts. In the final part, "Way forward," the editors look to the future with a chapter on inter-spirituality and the renewal of social practices. Driven by contemporary research and new developments, this Handbook is an innovative and interdisciplinary collection that provides an essential overview of contemporary spirituality and society from an international selection of contributors. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions offers accessible, diverse, and engaging international research, and its scope will appeal to academics and students of a wide range of subjects, including aging and addiction, psychology, theology, religious studies, sociology, business studies, and philosophy. It will also be an important work for professionals in medical and social services, the clergy, education, business, the arts, religious communities, and politics, and members of organizations looking at the links between spirituality, religion, and society.


Book Synopsis The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions by : Laszlo Zsolnai

Download or read book The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions written by Laszlo Zsolnai and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-15 with total page 734 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasingly, it is being recognized that spirituality, defined here as "a multiform search for a transcendent meaning of life that connects them to all living beings and brings them in touch with God or ‘Ultimate Reality,’" is an aspect of almost every sphere and aspect of social life. It appears in humanity’s dealings with nature, home and community, healing, economics and business, knowledge, and education. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions is a stimulating collection that summarizes the most important issues, frameworks, discussions, and problems relating to spiritually inspired activities in different fields of social life. The contributors explore how spirituality is a part of existence and present approaches and models for professionals working in diverse areas. Presented in seven parts, the book provides a full overview of current research and practice. Part II, "Facets of spirituality," explores topics including philosophy, psychology, theology, and culture. Part III, "Nature," looks at ecology, agriculture, cities, and tourism. Part IV, "Home and community," presents chapters on various life stages, disability, gender, and culture. Part V, "Healing," examines medicine, mental and physical health, and ill-health. In Part VI, "Economy, politics, and law," contributors discuss business, leadership and the workplace, peace, and policing. Part VII, "Knowledge and education," includes chapters on science, design, fashion, literature, and the arts. In the final part, "Way forward," the editors look to the future with a chapter on inter-spirituality and the renewal of social practices. Driven by contemporary research and new developments, this Handbook is an innovative and interdisciplinary collection that provides an essential overview of contemporary spirituality and society from an international selection of contributors. The Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions offers accessible, diverse, and engaging international research, and its scope will appeal to academics and students of a wide range of subjects, including aging and addiction, psychology, theology, religious studies, sociology, business studies, and philosophy. It will also be an important work for professionals in medical and social services, the clergy, education, business, the arts, religious communities, and politics, and members of organizations looking at the links between spirituality, religion, and society.

Performing Power in Nigeria

Performing Power in Nigeria

Author: Abimbola A. Adelakun

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2023-07-31

Total Pages: 299

ISBN-13: 1009281747

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Book Synopsis Performing Power in Nigeria by : Abimbola A. Adelakun

Download or read book Performing Power in Nigeria written by Abimbola A. Adelakun and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-07-31 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Palgrave Handbook of Queer and Trans Feminisms in Contemporary Performance

The Palgrave Handbook of Queer and Trans Feminisms in Contemporary Performance

Author: Tiina Rosenberg

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-09-21

Total Pages: 543

ISBN-13: 3030695557

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The purpose of this Handbook is to provide students with an overview of key developments in queer and trans feminist theories and their significance to the field of contemporary performance studies. It presents new insights highlighting the ways in which rigid or punishing notions of gender, sexuality and race continue to flourish in systems of knowledge, faith and power which are relevant to a new generation of queer and trans feminist performers today. The guiding question for the Handbook is: How do queer and trans feminist theories enhance our understanding of developments in feminist performance today, and will this discussion give rise to new ways of theorizing contemporary performance? As such, the volume will survey a new generation of performers and theorists, as well as senior scholars, who engage and redefine the limits of performance. The chapters will demonstrate how intersectional, queer and trans feminist theoretical tools support new analyses of performance with a global focus. The primary audience will be students of theatre/ performance studies as well as queer /gender studies. The volume’s contents suggest close links between the formation of queer feminist identities alongside recent key political developments with transnational resonances. Furthermore, the emergence of new queer and trans feminist epistemologies prompts a reorientation regarding performance and identities in a 21st-century context.


Book Synopsis The Palgrave Handbook of Queer and Trans Feminisms in Contemporary Performance by : Tiina Rosenberg

Download or read book The Palgrave Handbook of Queer and Trans Feminisms in Contemporary Performance written by Tiina Rosenberg and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-09-21 with total page 543 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this Handbook is to provide students with an overview of key developments in queer and trans feminist theories and their significance to the field of contemporary performance studies. It presents new insights highlighting the ways in which rigid or punishing notions of gender, sexuality and race continue to flourish in systems of knowledge, faith and power which are relevant to a new generation of queer and trans feminist performers today. The guiding question for the Handbook is: How do queer and trans feminist theories enhance our understanding of developments in feminist performance today, and will this discussion give rise to new ways of theorizing contemporary performance? As such, the volume will survey a new generation of performers and theorists, as well as senior scholars, who engage and redefine the limits of performance. The chapters will demonstrate how intersectional, queer and trans feminist theoretical tools support new analyses of performance with a global focus. The primary audience will be students of theatre/ performance studies as well as queer /gender studies. The volume’s contents suggest close links between the formation of queer feminist identities alongside recent key political developments with transnational resonances. Furthermore, the emergence of new queer and trans feminist epistemologies prompts a reorientation regarding performance and identities in a 21st-century context.

Posthuman Spiritualities in Contemporary Performance

Posthuman Spiritualities in Contemporary Performance

Author: Silvia Battista

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-06-19

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 3319897586

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This book provides an interpretative analysis of the notion of spirituality through the lens of contemporary performance and posthuman theories. The book examines five performance/artworks: The Artist is Present (2010) by Marina Abramović; The Deer Shelter Skyscape (2007) by James Turrell; CAT (1998) by Ansuman Biswas; Journey to the Lower World by Marcus Coates (2004); and the work with pollen by Wolfgang Laib. Through the analysis of these works the notion of spirituality is grounded in materiality and embodiment allowing the conceptual juxtaposition of spirit and matter to introduce the paradoxical as the guiding thread of the narrative of the book. Here, the human is interrogated and negotiated with/within a plurality of other living organisms, intangible existences and micro and macrocosmic ecologies. Silence, meditation, shamanic journeys, reciprocal gazing, restraint, and contemplation are analyzed as technologies used to manipulate perception and adventure into the multilayered condition of matter.


Book Synopsis Posthuman Spiritualities in Contemporary Performance by : Silvia Battista

Download or read book Posthuman Spiritualities in Contemporary Performance written by Silvia Battista and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an interpretative analysis of the notion of spirituality through the lens of contemporary performance and posthuman theories. The book examines five performance/artworks: The Artist is Present (2010) by Marina Abramović; The Deer Shelter Skyscape (2007) by James Turrell; CAT (1998) by Ansuman Biswas; Journey to the Lower World by Marcus Coates (2004); and the work with pollen by Wolfgang Laib. Through the analysis of these works the notion of spirituality is grounded in materiality and embodiment allowing the conceptual juxtaposition of spirit and matter to introduce the paradoxical as the guiding thread of the narrative of the book. Here, the human is interrogated and negotiated with/within a plurality of other living organisms, intangible existences and micro and macrocosmic ecologies. Silence, meditation, shamanic journeys, reciprocal gazing, restraint, and contemplation are analyzed as technologies used to manipulate perception and adventure into the multilayered condition of matter.

A Cultural History of Theatre in the Middle Ages

A Cultural History of Theatre in the Middle Ages

Author: Jody Enders

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-08-08

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 1350135321

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Historically and broadly defined as the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Renaissance, the Middle Ages encompass a millennium of cultural conflicts and developments. A large body of mystery, passion, miracle and morality plays cohabited with song, dance, farces and other public spectacles, frequently sharing ecclesiastical and secular inspiration. A Cultural History of Theatre in the Middle Ages provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the cultural history of theatre between 500 and 1500, and imaginatively pieces together the puzzle of medieval theatre by foregrounding the study of performance. Each of the ten chapters of this richly illustrated volume takes a different theme as its focus: institutional frameworks; social functions; sexuality and gender; the environment of theatre; circulation; interpretations; communities of production; repertoire and genres; technologies of performance; and knowledge transmission.


Book Synopsis A Cultural History of Theatre in the Middle Ages by : Jody Enders

Download or read book A Cultural History of Theatre in the Middle Ages written by Jody Enders and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-08-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Historically and broadly defined as the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Renaissance, the Middle Ages encompass a millennium of cultural conflicts and developments. A large body of mystery, passion, miracle and morality plays cohabited with song, dance, farces and other public spectacles, frequently sharing ecclesiastical and secular inspiration. A Cultural History of Theatre in the Middle Ages provides a comprehensive and interdisciplinary overview of the cultural history of theatre between 500 and 1500, and imaginatively pieces together the puzzle of medieval theatre by foregrounding the study of performance. Each of the ten chapters of this richly illustrated volume takes a different theme as its focus: institutional frameworks; social functions; sexuality and gender; the environment of theatre; circulation; interpretations; communities of production; repertoire and genres; technologies of performance; and knowledge transmission.

Embodied Performance

Embodied Performance

Author: Sarah Agnew

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2020-09-22

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 172525784X

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Embodied Performance presents a methodology by which performer-interpreters can bring their intuitive interpretations to the scholarly conversations about biblical compositions. It may not be comfortable, for scholarship is out of practice in listening to emotion and intuition. It may not be the only way to bring the fullness of human meaning making into scholarly discussions. It is a beginning, as Sarah Agnew, storyteller and scholar, places herself as the subject and object under examination, observing her practice as a biblical storyteller making meaning through embodied performance, and develops a coherent method rigorously tested with an Embodied Performance Analysis of Romans. Follow Sarah’s story as she searches within Biblical Performance Criticism for such a method, before determining the need to strike out in a new direction from within an already innovative field. All biblical scholars are complex human beings, making meaning through their embodiment, their emotions, their embeddedness in community. Embodied Performance Analysis offers a way to attend to and incorporate the full range of human meaning making in our engagement with biblical compositions, for richer discussion closer to the intent of the compositions themselves.


Book Synopsis Embodied Performance by : Sarah Agnew

Download or read book Embodied Performance written by Sarah Agnew and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-09-22 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Embodied Performance presents a methodology by which performer-interpreters can bring their intuitive interpretations to the scholarly conversations about biblical compositions. It may not be comfortable, for scholarship is out of practice in listening to emotion and intuition. It may not be the only way to bring the fullness of human meaning making into scholarly discussions. It is a beginning, as Sarah Agnew, storyteller and scholar, places herself as the subject and object under examination, observing her practice as a biblical storyteller making meaning through embodied performance, and develops a coherent method rigorously tested with an Embodied Performance Analysis of Romans. Follow Sarah’s story as she searches within Biblical Performance Criticism for such a method, before determining the need to strike out in a new direction from within an already innovative field. All biblical scholars are complex human beings, making meaning through their embodiment, their emotions, their embeddedness in community. Embodied Performance Analysis offers a way to attend to and incorporate the full range of human meaning making in our engagement with biblical compositions, for richer discussion closer to the intent of the compositions themselves.

Between Play and Prayer

Between Play and Prayer

Author: Anita Hammer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 9042031719

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Between Play and Prayer launches Spiritual Performance as a term to cover all human performance which in some way refers to creating the presence of beings or entities from a realm that transgresses the sensorial. This notion covers a great variety of performative genres, ranging from funerary services, spiritualist performances of deceased souls, to spiritual readings. This broad and deep approach to a range of performances is answering a renewed craving for spirituality in contemporary culture. By way of performance theory and aesthetic theory, concepts of faith, belief, experience, play, prayer and theatricality, are set in motion when proposing the necessity of experiencing such performances on their own terms. In depth descriptions of a variety of performances in Norwegian and New Zealand local contexts show the necessity of experiencing and understanding an existential quality in Spiritual Performance. Faith, not credo, is at the heart of spiritual practice. The book represents a new, innovative and trans-disciplinary approach to spirituality in performance. The reading of this book is a must for scholars in the field of theatre- and performance studies, ritual and festival studies, for scholars of religion, and anyone interested in the understanding of spiritual practices.


Book Synopsis Between Play and Prayer by : Anita Hammer

Download or read book Between Play and Prayer written by Anita Hammer and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between Play and Prayer launches Spiritual Performance as a term to cover all human performance which in some way refers to creating the presence of beings or entities from a realm that transgresses the sensorial. This notion covers a great variety of performative genres, ranging from funerary services, spiritualist performances of deceased souls, to spiritual readings. This broad and deep approach to a range of performances is answering a renewed craving for spirituality in contemporary culture. By way of performance theory and aesthetic theory, concepts of faith, belief, experience, play, prayer and theatricality, are set in motion when proposing the necessity of experiencing such performances on their own terms. In depth descriptions of a variety of performances in Norwegian and New Zealand local contexts show the necessity of experiencing and understanding an existential quality in Spiritual Performance. Faith, not credo, is at the heart of spiritual practice. The book represents a new, innovative and trans-disciplinary approach to spirituality in performance. The reading of this book is a must for scholars in the field of theatre- and performance studies, ritual and festival studies, for scholars of religion, and anyone interested in the understanding of spiritual practices.

Proof of Spiritual Phenomena

Proof of Spiritual Phenomena

Author: Mona Sobhani

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2022-08-23

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 164411500X

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• Shares data and meta-analysis from a large volume of extremely sophisticated experiments that provide proof for the existence of psi phenomena • Explores evidence of past lives, intuitive knowing, and other spiritual phenomena • Reveals the author’s own inexplicable experiences as well as her conversations with scientific colleagues, high-level experts, and government officials Fully indoctrinated into the cult of science, neuroscientist Mona Sobhani, Ph.D., aggressively defended the dogma of scientific beliefs--until a series of life-altering events caused her to reconsider spirituality and psi concepts and launched her into a two-year investigation into the ineffable mysteries of our world. Sharing the extensive research she discovered on past lives, karma, and the complex interactions of mind and matter, the author details her transformation from diehard materialist to open-minded spiritual seeker. She reveals her conversations about spirituality and anomalous occurrences with scientific colleagues as well as high-level experts and government officials who shared data on extremely sophisticated experiments that provided proof for the existence of psi phenomena. She discovered that psi research has been conducted on a grand scale for more than a century--by hundreds of scientists with hundreds of thousands of participants--and that there exists substantial evidence for the reality of psi. She examines meta-analysis of these experiments, such as that of the Ganzfield tests, which showed odds against chance of 12 billion to 1--throwing our current scientific materialist paradigm into question. Providing a deep dive into the literature of psychology, quantum physics, neuroscience, philosophy, and esoteric texts, Sobhani also explores the relationship between psi phenomena, the transcendence of space and time, and spirituality. Culminating with the author’s serious reckoning with one of the foundational principles of neuroscience--scientific materialism--this illuminating book shows that the mysteries of human experience go far beyond what the present scientific paradigm can comprehend.


Book Synopsis Proof of Spiritual Phenomena by : Mona Sobhani

Download or read book Proof of Spiritual Phenomena written by Mona Sobhani and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-08-23 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • Shares data and meta-analysis from a large volume of extremely sophisticated experiments that provide proof for the existence of psi phenomena • Explores evidence of past lives, intuitive knowing, and other spiritual phenomena • Reveals the author’s own inexplicable experiences as well as her conversations with scientific colleagues, high-level experts, and government officials Fully indoctrinated into the cult of science, neuroscientist Mona Sobhani, Ph.D., aggressively defended the dogma of scientific beliefs--until a series of life-altering events caused her to reconsider spirituality and psi concepts and launched her into a two-year investigation into the ineffable mysteries of our world. Sharing the extensive research she discovered on past lives, karma, and the complex interactions of mind and matter, the author details her transformation from diehard materialist to open-minded spiritual seeker. She reveals her conversations about spirituality and anomalous occurrences with scientific colleagues as well as high-level experts and government officials who shared data on extremely sophisticated experiments that provided proof for the existence of psi phenomena. She discovered that psi research has been conducted on a grand scale for more than a century--by hundreds of scientists with hundreds of thousands of participants--and that there exists substantial evidence for the reality of psi. She examines meta-analysis of these experiments, such as that of the Ganzfield tests, which showed odds against chance of 12 billion to 1--throwing our current scientific materialist paradigm into question. Providing a deep dive into the literature of psychology, quantum physics, neuroscience, philosophy, and esoteric texts, Sobhani also explores the relationship between psi phenomena, the transcendence of space and time, and spirituality. Culminating with the author’s serious reckoning with one of the foundational principles of neuroscience--scientific materialism--this illuminating book shows that the mysteries of human experience go far beyond what the present scientific paradigm can comprehend.

Body of Wisdom

Body of Wisdom

Author: Hilary Hart

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing

Published: 2013-04-26

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1780996950

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A chakra in our breasts that emits spiritual nourishment into life… a secret substance in our bodies to heal the earth… a direct connection from our wombs to the creative center of the universe… In Body of Wisdom, Hilary Hart identifies nine hidden powers alive in women’s bodies and instincts, waiting to be used in contemporary challenges such as the creation of community, healing of the earth, and the restoration of life’s spiritual nature. Based on interviews with the world’s most visionary spiritual teachers and women's dreams and experiences, Body of Wisdom ushers in a new spirituality in which the body and the shared body of the earth are known as a seat of mystical power and women take responsibility for spiritual work that only they can do. ,


Book Synopsis Body of Wisdom by : Hilary Hart

Download or read book Body of Wisdom written by Hilary Hart and published by John Hunt Publishing. This book was released on 2013-04-26 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A chakra in our breasts that emits spiritual nourishment into life… a secret substance in our bodies to heal the earth… a direct connection from our wombs to the creative center of the universe… In Body of Wisdom, Hilary Hart identifies nine hidden powers alive in women’s bodies and instincts, waiting to be used in contemporary challenges such as the creation of community, healing of the earth, and the restoration of life’s spiritual nature. Based on interviews with the world’s most visionary spiritual teachers and women's dreams and experiences, Body of Wisdom ushers in a new spirituality in which the body and the shared body of the earth are known as a seat of mystical power and women take responsibility for spiritual work that only they can do. ,