Performance studies : an introduction / Richard Schechner.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 354-371) and index.

What is performance? -- What is performance studies? -- Performance processes -- The broad spectrum of performance -- Ritual -- Play -- Performing in the paleolithic -- Performativity -- Social media -- Intercultural and global performances.

"Richard Schechner's pioneering textbook is a lively, accessible overview of the full range of performance, with primary extracts, student activities, key biographies, and over 200 images of global performance. The publication of Performance Studies: An Introduction was a defining moment for the field. This fourth edition has been revised with two new chapters, up-to-date coverage of global and intercultural performances, and an in-depth exploration of the growing international importance of Performance Studies. Among the book's topics are the performing arts and popular entertainments, rituals, play and games, social media, the performances of the paleolithic period, and the performances of everyday life. Supporting examples and ideas are drawn from the social sciences, performing arts, poststructuralism, ritual theory, ethology, philosophy, and aesthetics. Performance Studies: An Introduction features the broadest and most in-depth analysis possible. Performance Studies: An Introduction is the definitive overview for undergraduates at all levels and beginning graduate students in performance studies, the performing arts, and cultural studies. This new edition is also supported by a fully updated companion website, offering a variety of interactive resources, teaching tools, and research links"-- Provided by publisher.