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This book investigates the phenomenological ways that dance choreographing and dance performance exemplify both Truth and meaning-making within Native American epistemology, from an analytic philosophical perspective. Given that within Native American communities dance is regarded both as an integral cultural conduit and "a doorway to a powerful wisdom," Shay Welch argues that dance and dancing can both create and communicate knowledge. She explains that dance-as a form of oral, narrative storytelling-has the power to communicate knowledge of beliefs and histories, and that dance is a form of embodied narrative storytelling. Welch provides analytic clarity on how this happens, what conditions are required for it to succeed, and how dance can satisfy the relational and ethical facets of Native epistemology.
List of contents
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Native American Epistemology.- Chapter 3: Native American Epistemology and Embodied Cognitive Theory.- Chapter 4: Native American Epistemology and Dancing.- Chapter 5: Native American Dancing: The Truthing in Performative Knowing.
About the author
Shay Welch is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Spelman College, USA.
Summary
This book investigates the phenomenological ways that dance choreographing and dance performance exemplify both Truth and meaning-making within Native American epistemology, from an analytic philosophical perspective. Given that within Native American communities dance is regarded both as an integral cultural conduit and “a doorway to a powerful wisdom,” Shay Welch argues that dance and dancing can both create and communicate knowledge. She explains that dance—as a form of oral, narrative storytelling—has the power to communicate knowledge of beliefs and histories, and that dance is a form of embodied narrative storytelling. Welch provides analytic clarity on how this happens, what conditions are required for it to succeed, and how dance can satisfy the relational and ethical facets of Native epistemology.
Additional text
“The book is a marvel of philosophical insight worthy the attention of anyone interested in its many fields of address, from epistemology, to embodiment, to dance. Just read the book.” (Sebastian Purcell, Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective, September 18, 2019)
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"The book is a marvel of philosophical insight worthy the attention of anyone interested in its many fields of address, from epistemology, to embodiment, to dance. Just read the book." (Sebastian Purcell, Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective, September 18, 2019)
