This cutting-edge volume on the major advancements in performance studies presents the theories, methods, and practices of performance in cultures around the globe. Prominent anthropologists outline the scope of performance studies across anthropology, folklore, art and religious studies, providing an invaluable guide in this exciting and growing area.

The anthology focuses on the way in which performances, broadly construed as acting aesthetically on or off stage, figure in the anthropological study of culture. Drawing on a wide range of phenomena, and employing fascinating case studies, the volume successfully demonstrates how human beings communicate with one another - both verbally and non-verbally - through the use of stylized or expressive behavior.

The Anthropology of Performance has been accessibly arranged into a number of thematic sets, and structured in a way that introduces new and advanced students to the task of studying and interpreting complex social, cultural, and political events from a performance perspective. It begins with a valuable theoretical introduction by the editor which contextualizes and frames the subsequent chapters. It is an indispensable volume in this interdisciplinary field for anthropologists, folklorists, sociologists, theatre studies specialists, and the interested general reader.