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Dance and the Secular

Embodiment as Political Imagination

Dance and the Secular cover

Dance and the Secular

Embodiment as Political Imagination

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Pre-order. Available Apr 29 2027
$103.50 RRP $115.00 Website price saving $11.50 (10%)

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Description

This volume draws on a travelling venture called The Secular Project, which travelled across India as well as within the UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Vatican City, Italy and Greece, and deliberately chose to address the secular through the moving body.

The question of the secular has so far been studied in philosophy, theology and law departments. Rarely has the secular been imagined, configured and negotiated through the moving body. The Secular Project's catalyst was the recent wave of Hindu nationalism engulfing India's socio-political landscape and set out to explore the experience of creating and performing various iterations of the secular in different global contexts through dance, movement and performance with over 200 collaborators across the world.

Drawing from this far-reaching project, the book offers a range of performative reflections on the subject. In addition to the editor's overview of the scope of The Secular Project, throughout the book are short, curated dialogues with a diverse selection of cultural practitioners, including dancers, choreographers, directors, film-makers and more, who engaged with the project in various capacities.

The form of these dialogues captured here range from WhatsApp messages, email exchanges, photo essays, transcribed conversations, short essays, Q & As and dialogues via multi-modal AI to notes and even doodles.

Overall, the book demonstrates the transformative potential of moving bodies and their ability to galvanise collective action globally and across generations.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Mandeep Raikhy
Beyond the Lexical: Shuddhabrata Sengupta
Notes on the Secular: Ameera Nimjee
'Un-islamic' Practices: In Conversation with Sheema Kermani
Return to Prayer: In Conversation with J. Bouey
Caste and the Secular: In Conversation with Sri Vamsi Matta
Reflections Across the Border: In Collaboration with Asad Ali Zulfiqar
Institutional Articulations: In Conversation with Avni Sethi
Dancing the Secular: Mandeep Raikhy
Reparations: In Conversation with Farah Saleh
Memory, Testimonies and Fiction: In Conversation with Nisha Abdulla
The Secular in the Times of Moral Panic: In Conversation with Wagner Schwartz
Blemished Histories: In Conversation with Navtej Johar
Rites of the Secular: In Conversation with Ulduz Ahmadzadeh
Gestures of Ritual and Care: In Conversation with Sage Ni'Ja Whitson
Collective Imaginings: In Conversation with Saba Dewan
Living the Secular: Mandeep Raikhy
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published Apr 29 2027
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Pages 160
ISBN 9781350555532
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Illustrations 32 b&w
Dimensions 8 x 5 inches
Series Dance in Dialogue
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

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Environment: Staging