A History of Theory and Method in the Study of Religion and Dance: Past, Present, and Future (Brill Research Perspectives in Religion and the Arts)

The relationship between religion and dance is as old as humankind. Contemporary methods for studying this relationship date back a century. The difference between these two time frames is significant: scholars are still developing theories and methods capable of illuminating this vast history that take account of their limited place within it. A History of Theory and Method in the Study of Religion and Dance takes on a primary challenge of doing so: overcoming a conceptual dichotomy between “religion” and “dance” forged in the colonial era that justified western Christian hostility towards dance traditions across six continents over six centuries. Beginning with its enlightenment roots, LaMothe narrates a selective history of this dichotomy, revealing its ongoing work in separating dance studies from religious studies. Turning to the Bushmen of the African Kalahari, LaMothe introduces an ecokinetic approach that provides scholars with conceptual resources for mapping the generative interdependence of phenomena that appear as “dance” and/or “religion.”

Kimerer L. LaMothe, Ph.D., is a philosopher, dancer, and award-winning author. Her five books include Nietzche’s Dancers: Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and the Revaluation of Christian Values (Palgrave 2006) and Why We Dance: A Philosophy of Bodily Becoming (Columbia 2015).