This book is an introduction to philosophy of religion from the perspective of a religiously pluralistic culture. It deals with introductory questions such as whether we can we understand, compare, and judge the insights of others and the ways in which people can speak and think about God. It introduces the classical themes of philosophy of religion - immanent and transcendent ideas of God and (im)personality; transcendence, good, and evil; religion, morality and society - using a distinction between cosmic, acosmic and theistic ideas of the divine. This introduction helps us discover differences and commonalities and thus helps further an emphatic and critical dialogue. This book explores how comparative theology and philosophy of religion can move beyond the dead-end roads of relativism and exclusivism.

In Researching Dance, an introduction to research methods in dance addressed primarily to graduate students, the editors explore dance as evolutional, defining it in view of its intrinsic participatory values, its developmental aspects, and its purposes from art to ritual, and they examine the role of theory in research. The editors have also included essays by nine dancer-scholars who examine qualitative and quantitative inquiry and delineate the most common approaches for investigating dance, raising concerns about philosophy and aesthetics, historical scholarship, movement analysis, sexual and gender identification, cultural diversity, and the resources available to students. The writers have included study questions, research exercises, and suggested readings to facilitate the book's use as a classroom text.

From healing, fertility and religious rituals, through theatrical entertainment, to death ceremonies and ancestor worship, World Dance Cultures introduces an extraordinary variety of dance forms practiced around the world. This highly illustrated textbook draws on wide-ranging historical documentation and first-hand accounts, taking in India, Bali, Java, Cambodia, China, Japan, Hawai’i, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Africa, Turkey, Spain, Native America, South America, and the Caribbean. Each chapter covers a certain region’s distinctive dances, pinpoints key issues and trends from the form’s development to its modern iteration, and offers a wealth of study features including: Case Studies – zooming in on key details of a dance form’s cultural, historical, and religious contexts ‘Explorations’ – first-hand descriptions of dances, from scholars, anthropologists and practitioners ‘Think About’ – provocations to encourage critical analysis of dance forms and the ways in which they’re understood Discussion Questions – starting points for group work, classroom seminars or individual study Further Study Tips – listing essential books, essays and video material. Offering a comprehensive overview of each dance form covered with over 100 full color photos, World Dance Cultures is an essential introductory resource for students and instructors alike.

Dance has the power to change the lives of young people. It is a force in shaping identity, affirming culture and exploring heritage in an increasingly borderless world. Creative and empowering pedagogies are driving curriculum development worldwide where the movement of peoples and cultures generates new challenges and possibilities for dance education in multiple contexts. In Dance Education around the World: Perspectives on Dance, Young People and Change, writers across the globe come together to reflect, comment on and share their expertise and experiences. The settings are drawn from a spectrum of countries with contributions from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific and Africa giving insights and fresh perspectives into contrasting ideas, philosophies and approaches to dance education from Egypt to Ghana, Brazil to Finland, Jamaica to the Netherlands, the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and more. This volume offers chapters and narratives on: Curriculum developments worldwide Empowering communities through dance Embodiment and creativity in dance teaching Exploring and assessing learning in dance as artistic practice Imagined futures for dance education Reflection, evaluation, analysis and documentation are key to the evolving ecology of dance education and research involving individuals, communities and nations. Dance Education around the World: Perspectives on Dance, Young People and Change provides a great resource for dance educators, practitioners and researchers, and pushes for the furtherance of dance education around the world. Charlotte Svendler Nielsen is Assistant professor and head of educational studies at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, research group Body, Learning and Identity, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Stephanie Burridge lectures at Lasalle College of the Arts and Singapore Management University, and is the series editor for Routledge Celebrating Dance in Asia and the Pacific.

Dance has the power to change the lives of young people. It is a force in shaping identity, affirming culture and exploring heritage in an increasingly borderless world. Creative and empowering pedagogies are driving curriculum development worldwide where the movement of peoples and cultures generates new challenges and possibilities for dance education in multiple contexts. In Dance Education around the World: Perspectives on Dance, Young People and Change, writers across the globe come together to reflect, comment on and share their expertise and experiences. The settings are drawn from a spectrum of countries with contributions from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific and Africa giving insights and fresh perspectives into contrasting ideas, philosophies and approaches to dance education from Egypt to Ghana, Brazil to Finland, Jamaica to the Netherlands, the UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand and more. This volume offers chapters and narratives on: Curriculum developments worldwide Empowering communities through dance Embodiment and creativity in dance teaching Exploring and assessing learning in dance as artistic practice Imagined futures for dance education Reflection, evaluation, analysis and documentation are key to the evolving ecology of dance education and research involving individuals, communities and nations. Dance Education around the World: Perspectives on Dance, Young People and Change provides a great resource for dance educators, practitioners and researchers, and pushes for the furtherance of dance education around the world. Charlotte Svendler Nielsen is Assistant professor and head of educational studies at the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, research group Body, Learning and Identity, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Stephanie Burridge lectures at Lasalle College of the Arts and Singapore Management University, and is the series editor for Routledge Celebrating Dance in Asia and the Pacific.

Performing arts in most parts of Maritime Southeast Asia are seen as an entity, where music and dance, sound and movement, acoustic and tactile elements intermingle and complement each other. Although this fact is widely known and referenced, most scholarly works in the performing arts so far have either focused on "music" or "dance" rather than treating the two in combination. The authors in this book look at both aspects in performance, moreover, they focus explicitly on the interrelation between the two, on both descriptive-analytical and metaphorical levels. The book includes diverse examples of regional performing art genres from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. All case studies are composed from the perspective of the relatively new approach and field of ethno-choreomusicology. This particular compilation gives an exemplary overview of various phenomena in movement-sound relations, and offers for the first time a thorough study of the phenomenon that is considered essential for the performing arts in Maritime Southeast Asia - the inseparability of movement and sound.

Written by a diverse group of authors from across the globe, Dance Cultures Around the World offers students a rich and in-depth look at 25 different cultures of dance. Through a dynamic collaboration with the chapter authors, editors Lynn E. Frederiksen and Shih-Ming Li Chang have carefully created a unique multimedia resource that includes vetted links to dance videos, images, and other materials. The text, suitable for high school and undergraduate general education and dance courses, addresses cross-cultural dynamics, colonialism, diaspora, politics, and more as critical factors in learning about cultures of dance around the world. As stated in the preface, “Every culture has some form of dance. However, why people dance—and further, how they define and create dance—are the difficult questions at the core of this text. Once you understand why dance exists and examine the factors that explain particular dance forms, you can engage more fully with many cultures of dance, including your own.” Written by cultural insiders, the chapters illuminate contexts and histories of dances often misinterpreted through the notion of dance as a universal language. “Just as you would not expect to understand a foreign language simply because it is human speech, you cannot expect to understand foreign dance without some ‘translation.’ The multiple layers of meaning and history in foreign dances are often left unrevealed, and therefore the opportunity for true cross-cultural understanding is missed.” To ensure rich cross-cultural engagement, the insiders “translate” their dance cultures, showing how influential forces affect both the qualities of the dance and its place in society. Dance Cultures Around the World offers a wealth of information: It explores dance cultures in nine geopolitical regions. It reveals patterns that operate in each region, adjusting for historical, political, and geographical differences. It enriches the reader’s experience of their own culture, as well as those of others, as they learn what dance is in various cultures, who dances, and why they dance. Each chapter begins with a vignette describing a signature dance or dance-related feature of the culture, followed by an introduction to its history and geography. Significant events, people, and qualities of the dance culture are highlighted throughout the chapters. Instructors and students have access to online resources through HKPropel. Instructor resources include a sample syllabus, chapter summaries, and suggested answers for chapter discussion questions; a presentation package with PowerPoint slides; a test package with over 700 multiple-choice, true-false, and fill-in-the-blank questions; and ready-made chapter quizzes. Student resources include links to videos, articles, and websites for further learning; key terms and definitions; references and resources; an application activity for each chapter; and chapter quizzes. Dance Cultures Around the World gives readers an overview of dance cultures and provides an insider’s perspective on how dance develops and evolves around the world. Together with the online resources in HKPropel, the book gives students and instructors a well-crafted gateway to dance cultures across the globe. Note: A code for accessing HKPropel is not included with this ebook but may be purchased separately.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.