The End of the Circus : Evolutionary Semiotics and Cultural Resilience /: Evolutionary Semiotics and Cultural Resilience. (2021)

• Record Type: Book
• Further Information: Note: Paul Bouissac.
• Authors: Bouissac, Paul
• Contents: Acknowledgements1. Overture: Themes and VariationsIntroductionWhence and wither the 'traditional' circus?'Death to the circus'Clowns on the waneThe body: from ritual to spectacleThe human tragedy: 'You! Wretched Gypsies!'2. First Movement, Andante Sostenuto: The Time of the GypsiesWho are the Gypsies?Where do Gypsies come from?Contrapuntal development #1Being a Gypsy: the bane or bliss of differenceA deeper time perspectiveThe circus enters history: Was Philip Astley a Gypsy?The art of survivalContrapuntal development #2: What is a name?Our inner GypsyAn ode to resilienceOn the flipsideThe evolution of space, time, and cultures3. Second Movement Vivace Furioso: AnimalsA memoryHunger rules the worldThe human animal: the game of life and deathBear powerThe hyena men of NigeriaWolvesThe death of a tigressHunger never stopsFrom non-animal humans to non-human animalsThe cage acts of yesteryearsWhat is a wild animal?The antiquity of the animal circus: the elephantsThe antiquity of the animal circus: the predatorsWild utopiaEthos, ethics, and the Peterson effectA self-defeating strategyCultural entropy and semiotic panic4. Third Movement, Adagio Lamentendo: ClownsPerplexed clownsMasksWhat is a clown?A detour to India: the VidûshakaA modern master: Charlie ChaplinTwo kinds of laughterThe twilight of the clown: off-limit humorThe clown and its discontentsThe white-face clown: the waxing and waning of a cultural heroBlack face mattersThe crucifixion of the clownFree speech and the clowns: Is Jordan Peterson a trickster?5. Fourth Movement, Maestoso Appassionato: BodiesWhat is a body?Modes of survivalLife on the brink of deathEpiphaniesThe body brought into playGreatness and misery of acrobats' bodiesNegotiating one's own body: benefit-to-cost ratioBodies unboundThe visceral circus: bodies of fear and desireTechnological evolution and the perception of riskFor your eyes only: Eros at the circusFrom ritual to spectacle6. Coda, SforzandoResistance and resilienceThe downfall of the traditional circusThe Anthropocene delusionThe reign of anthropomorphismThe return of the hyenasReferencesIndex.
• Publisher Details: London : Bloomsbury Academic
• Publication Date: 2021
• Extent: 1 online resource (264 pages)
• Subjects: Sociolinguistics; Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography; Circus; Language Arts & Disciplines -- Linguistics -- Sociolinguistics; Social Science -- Anthropology -- Cultural; Performing Arts -- Circus; Semiotics / semiology
• Languages: English
• ISBNs: 9781350166516; 1350166510
• Related ISBNs: 9781350166493
• Access Rights: Legal Deposit; Only available on premises controlled by the deposit library and to one user at any one time; The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK).
• Access Usage: Restricted: Printing from this resource is governed by The Legal Deposit Libraries (Non-Print Works) Regulations (UK) and UK copyright law currently in force.