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Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance:

Interdisciplinary Dance Research in the American South

  • Promotional Video
  • "Paw Creek"
  • "The Land of Nod"
  • Performance Archive
  • Research Materials

An entirely original and carefully crafted exploration of ecstatic embodiment in Appalachian Pentecostalism. Richly nuanced, this remarkable study places Pragmatist philosophy in direct relationship to experimental performance with stunning results. Mullis has created an essential offering for anyone interested in dance, ethnography, philosophy, theology, or the promise of pluralism as a method for engaging interdisciplinary inquiry—Thomas F. DeFrantz

This is a fantastically original study of ecstatic Pentecostal spiritualism wrapping Pragmatist philosophy, dance and choreographic theory, dramaturgical considerations and autobiography compellingly into a set of narratives that make a strong case for attending to the borderless friction between trance, possession and folk culture in American Appalachia. A timely book that makes important new inroads in interdisciplinary performance research—Kélina Gotman

This book advances an interdisciplinary approach to an individual artistic journey into ecstatic embodiment and thereby develops a thorough analysis of the relationship between aesthetics and epistemology. This impressive work contributes to the study of knowledge reenactment and to the interdisciplinary endeavor of Performance Philosophy—Einav Katan-Schmid


Published Reviews:

Colleen Dunagan, “Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance”
Dance Research Journal 54:1 (2022).

Curtis Carter, “On the State of Dance Philosophy”
Journal of Aesthetic Education 55:3 (2021).

Aili Bresnahan, “Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance”
Transactions of the C.S. Peirce Society
57:3 (2021).

Susanne Franco, “Performance as Philosophy”
European Journal of Pragmatism and American Philosophy XIII-1 (2021).


Available at:
Palgrave MacMillan and Amazon.com