Excalibur by Michael Higgins

Excalibur by Michael Higgins

Embedded within the dances of Africa are repositories of historical narratives, invaluable insights on the mindset of ancient and contemporary peoples, and revelations and budding hints of developing cultural phenomena. Such information greatly contributes to and facilitates deeper understanding of undeciphered African artifacts. It informs diverse disciplines, including African history, African studies, world history, archaeology, cultural studies, performance studies, and dance history, among other fields. Uncovering previously unknown artifacts is futile if their meaning continues to be a mystery. Historical Perspectives on Dance in Africa introduces students, scholars, and the general public to previously under-researched African dances and their meanings, and the cultural history that gave birth to them.

Angela Smith is Professor of Language and Culture at the University of Sunderland, UK. Her publications have applied the analysis of language to a number of different contexts - from journalism to children's fiction - and she is particularly expert in unscripted media discourse. Her books include Belligerent Broadcasting: synthetic argument in broadcast talk (2017, with Michael Higgins) and Re-Reading Spare Rib (2017). She co-edits the Bloomsbury International Library of Gender in Popular Culture.

Michael Higgins is Senior Lecturer in Humanities at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, UK. He has written widely on issues around politics, media and journalism, including the books Media and Their Publics (2008), The Cambridge Companion to Modern British Culture (2010, with Storey and Smith), and La Leadership Politica (2014, with Sorice, Blasio and Hibberd)