history

Offers dance novices an overview of the history of dance and its many forms, profiling notable dancers and choreographers and offering tips on how to enjoy a dance performance.

Chronicles the evolution of the theater from its beginnings to the early twenty-first century, covering styles, creative and technical elements, and the theater's impact on society and culture. Focuses largely on Europe and the U.S. but also discusses Africa, Asia, Latin America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Studies the works of award-winning author Leslie Marmon Silko, and discusses her writing theories, how she used her life experiences to influence her work, and other related topics.

An autobiographical account of the life of the Dalai Lama that discusses the childhood he spent in exile, his struggle to gain freedom for Tibet, and the effect he has had on Tibetan Buddhism.

A critical and biographical analysis of the writings of Maxine Hong Kingston that thematically addresses her writing and political views.

A hand-drawn biography of pioneering modern dancer Isadora Duncan, covering her youth in California during the late nineteenth century, her influence on dance as a fine art, her rise to popularity in Europe, the scandal and controversy that followed her, and her shocking death.

Traces Maya civilization from its earliest beginnings to the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century, examining the daily life of the people, and discusses topics such as the civilization's economy, social and political systems, writing and calendar, arts and crafts, and religion.

Reconstructs the daily life of people living in the various stratas of Inca society, discussing social, political, economic, religious, and cultural aspects of the civilization, and addressing the destruction of archaeological sites throughout the world.

Investigates the history of sanctioned public revelry, from the Dionysian winter dance to twenty-first-century sporting events and concerts, looking at attempts by churches and other institutions to squelch ecstatic displays, and concluding that humans are inately social beings prone to sharing joy.

A survey of theater, examining the nature and function of theater, its relationship to other forms of art, the structure of scripts, and other related topics; and looking at representative types of theatrical experience.