Circus as Multimodal Discourse Performance, Meaning, and Ritual

, by
Circus as Multimodal Discourse Performance, Meaning, and Ritual by Bouissac, Paul, 9781472569479
Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
  • ISBN: 9781472569479 | 1472569474
  • Cover: Paperback
  • Copyright: 7/3/2014

  • Rent

    (Recommended)

    $30.79
     
    Term
    Due
    Price
    *This item is part of an exclusive publisher rental program and requires an additional convenience fee. This fee will be reflected in the shopping cart.
  • Buy New

    Usually Ships in 3-5 Business Days

    $44.28
  • eBook

    eTextBook from VitalSource Icon

    Available Instantly

    Online: 180 Days

    Downloadable: 180 Days

    $34.19

Now available in paperback, this volume presents a theory of the circus as a secular ritual and introduces a method to analyze its performances as multimodal discourse.

The book's chapters cover the range of circus specialties (magic, domestic and wild animal training, acrobatics, and clowning) and provide examples to show how cultural meaning is produced, extended and amplified by circus performances. Bouissac is one of the world's leading authorities on circus ethnography and semiotics and this work is grounded on research conducted over a 50 year span in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

It concludes with a reflection on the potentially subversive power of this discourse and its contemporary use by activists. Throughout, it endeavours to develop an analytical approach that is mindful of the epistemological traps of both positivism and postmodernist license. It brings semiotics and ethnography to bear on the realm of the circus.

Loading Icon

Please wait while the item is added to your bag...
Continue Shopping Button
Checkout Button
Loading Icon
Continue Shopping Button