Dance Anthropology 1

Subject is not scheduled Not scheduled

Code Completion Credits Range Language Instruction Semester
107AOFD1 credit 3 1 lecture hours (45 min) of instruction per week, 66 to 81 hours of self-study English winter

Subject guarantor

Name of lecturer(s)

Department

The subject provides Dance Department

Contents

Learning objective:

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the basic literature of cultural and social anthropology and lead them to understand the professional text; to introduce the process of the formation of the discipline focused on the anthropological study of dance and to develop the ability to think anthropologically.

The aim of the lecture series is to understand dance expression in its socio-cultural context and in other socio-cultural, ideological or political contexts. It is a holistic approach to the study of dance, where this expression is observed not only as a physical product, but especially as a cultural process and a particular mode of social activity. In this perspective, dance is studied as a text and as part of the communicative space of an interest, social, ethnic or other group; attention is paid to its cognitive and symbolic dimension. Dance thus becomes a key to understanding a number of social processes, e.g. the formation of collective identity, global flows, ethnic or transnational mobilities, etc.

Thematic areas:

  1. Evolutionism and the origins of anthropological thought
  2. European sources of anthropological theories of culture - É. E. Durkheim, M. Mauss, theories of the body
  3. American cultural anthropology - F. Boas, R. Benedict's configurationalism
  4. Functionalism - B. Malinowski, Franziska Boas - function of dance
  5. N. Chomsky; dance as an object of semiotic study

Learning outcomes

Development of theoretical thinking skills, introduction to specific issues and approaches of cultural and social anthropology and their application in dance anthropology. Understanding of the text, critical reading.

Prerequisites and other requirements

none

Literature

Required reading:

ERIKSEN, Thomas Hylland. Small Places, Large Issues: an Introduction to Social and Cultural anthropology. Fourth edition. London: Pluto Press 2015.

MAUSS, Marcel. Les techniques du corps. Journal de psychologie 32, 1935, n. 3 – 4, p. 271–293. ISSN 0021-7956. The Technics of the Body. Economy and Society 2, 1973, pp. 70-88.

BOAS, Franziska. The Function of Dance in Human Society. New York: Dance Horizons, 1972. ISBN 978-0871270320.

MURPHY, Robert Francis. Cultural and Social Anthropology. An Ouverture. 3rd Edition. Pearson, 1988.

NAHACHEWSKY, Andriy. Participatory and Presentational Dance as Ethnochoreological Categories. Dance Research Journal 27/1, Spring 1995, p. 1–15.

GEERTZ, Clifford. The interpretation of Cultures: selected essays. New York: Basic Books, 2017. ISBN 9780465093557.

FELFÖLDI, Lászlo. Dance Knowledge. To Cognitive Approach in Folk Dance Research. In: FISKVIK, Anne Margrete a BAKKA, Egil, eds. Dance Knowledge – Dansekunnskap. International Conference on Cognitive Aspect of Dance. Proceedings: 6th NOFOD Conference, Trondheim (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology) January 10-13 2002. Trondheim: NOFOD, 2002. s. 13-20. ISBN 82-91419-20-5.

Recommended reading:

BOWIE, Fiona. Antropologie náboženství. Rituál, mytologie, šamanismus, poutnictví. Praha: Portál, 2008. ISBN 978-80-7367-378-9.

ERIKSEN, Thomas Hylland. Sociální a kulturní antropologie. Příbuzenství, národnostní příslušnost, rituál. Praha: Portál, 2008. ISBN 978-80-7367-465-6.

SOUKUP, Václav. Přehled antropologických teorií kultury. Praha: Portál, 2000. ISBN 80-7178-328-5.

SOUKUP, Martin. Terénní výzkum v sociální a kulturní antropologii. Praha: Karolinum, 2017. ISBN 978-80-246-2567-6.

STAVĚLOVÁ, Daniela. Jak se dnes v Čechách tancuje. Otázky taneční antropologie. Národopisná revue 13, 2003, č. 2, s. 67–69. ISSN 0862-8351.

Evaluation methods and criteria

Conditions for the award of credit - verification of the understanding of the problem by analysing the assigned professional texts

Attendance in class at least 75%.

Further information

No schedule has been prepared for this course

The subject is a part of the following study plans