Interacting with history: reflections on philosophy and the pedagogy of dance history

Abstract

Dance history is studied at all levels of the curriculum, whether as a named course or part of other domains of enquiry. Debates drawn from the philosophy of history and historiographic practice can impact on the teaching and learning of dance history in order to produce a more imaginative and personal engagement with the field. These debates are identified as: (i) the contestation of the traditional categorisation of sources; (ii) postmodern ideas about the instability of historical knowledge; (iii) the synchronic approach to study; (iv) fiction as history; and (v) the dance as source. These conceptual and critical perspectives, embedded in strategies for the teaching of dance history, can contribute to helping the student learner acquire a sense of their own identity and own place in the dance community. This, it is argued, is the key rationale for its place on the curriculum.