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Dancing in the streets : a history of collective Joy / by Barbara Ehrenreich Hardcover – 2006

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Dancing in the Streets explores a human impulse that has been so effectively suppressed that we lack even a term for it: the desire for collective joy, historically expressed in revels of feasting, costuming, and dancing.

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Product Details

Hardcover
Publisher: New York : Metropolitan Books; 1St Edition edition (2006)
ASIN: B002A74INQ
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,097,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3782 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions
- #15014 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural
- #15832 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources

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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

5 star		69%
4 star		23%
3 star		3%
2 star		0%
1 star		5%

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

And that had a good side and a bad side

By Evelina on September 3, 2014

Format: Kindle Edition

the writer seems to think that primitive society and the middle ages were times of tolerance and liberalism. She offers a fantasy version of our cooperative egalitarian tribal past. Primitive society is not egalitarian, except in roaming bands of 60 people max, all related by blood or marriage. Even then, only the men are “equal,” some may be slaves, they probably are at constant war with another group.

The author writes that the rise of social hierarchy goes hand in hand with militarism and war that is hostile to danced rituals. That is false because in “primitive” cultures war involves dancing. It helps to stoke the aggression of the warrior as the dancers enact stabbing, disemboweling, decapitating, etc, and victory. The author has a theory that the “elites” took over and prevented dancing, but the elites participated in the dancing, with the king, chief, or priest taking the lead role. Massacres were often preceded by wild dancing and laughter. Dancing preceded punishments and executions. Dancing was not about individuality and liberal rights. Dancing was not a precursor of democracy.

The kind of people the author champions are not liberal or modern. When people stopped spontaneous dancing in the street, it was not due to evil conspiracy as the author imagines. Society changed and there was emphasis on being civilized, restrained, genteel, inhibited. This started with the protestant reformation that emphasized the agency, self control, respectability, and wisdom of each man (and eventually woman). (Not to endorse any kind of religion, just to point out historic developments.) The architects of the reformation were artisans, working class people, farmers, tanners, blacksmiths, small landholders.Read more ›

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READ THIS BOOK

By hannah on August 25, 2014

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

Barbara Ehrenreich is my favorite author. This book, in particular, I love. There's not a lot of joy in day to day American life. At least amongst the people I know. People seem to work too much, come home, and then drink themselves to sleep in front of some inane TV show. Like, people are just waiting to die. When I read this book I was so relieved to find that there is at least ONE other person out there who noticed something is missing.

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Four Stars

By Pearlie May on March 18, 2015

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

pretty good

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Fascinating

By Martin Shackelford on May 17, 2014

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

A good look at the history of ritual, celebration, carnival, pleasure, and the efforts to suppress them. Very well done!!!

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

A celebration of dancing and a condemnation of the authorities

By Cynthia S. Haggard on June 23, 2012

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Barbara Ehrenreich's DANCING IN THE STREETS is both a celebration of dancing and a condemnation of the authorities who are trying to prevent large groups of people from running amok in the interests of law and order.

This wonderful book is a potted history of dance, from its roots back in the misty past, through various ancient civilizations and up through the present day. Ms. Ehrenreich conveys how natural it was to dance and how this is a knack that many of us have lost today. People who either live in Northern Europe or can trace their ancestry from that part of the world have difficulty loosening up enough to dance even for a few minutes, let alone for hours or days. And since this somewhat Puritanical attitude has pervaded the world, all of us suffer from a lack of dancing in our lives.

I am in awe of how much research Ms. Ehrenreich has done for this book. Of course, dancing is not just about dancing. In the ancient past, it was used to cure people of sadness. Since the early Middle Ages, it seems to have taken on more political overtones, and people who danced often did so for reasons of social justice. In fact dancing impinged on so many aspects of people's lives from religion (where people danced to their prayers) to the military, to sports. And what is fascinating is how Ms. Ehrenreich argues that relatively recently the young men and women of the 50s and 60s who would not sit down in their seats during a rock concert, were merely reaching back (albeit unconsciously) into a Dionysian past.

For those of you who have often wondered about dancing, and its various social incarnations, this book is for you. Five stars.

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fascinating fun read

By me on March 11, 2015

Format: Paperback Verified Purchase

Fascinating study, easy to read, entertaining and thought-provoking. Very original take on a subject I haven't seen addressed much.

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A salute to partying

By Newton Ooi on July 4, 2012

Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase

For English readers, there have been about 3 famous female authors over the past three decades; Barbara Tuchman, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Barbara Ehrenreich. The third is the only one of the trio to have not won a Pulitzer Prize, even though her works are just as good. In this one, she takes a serious look at the history of partying in Western civilization. Starting with cave art and rock art from the earliest age of mankind, the author then progresses to Hellenistic times and focuses much on Greek culture and myths. From there, the book contrasts the Greeks with the Romans, and how the former emphasized communal participation in their social activities, whereas the latter emphasized social stratification. The former was built on crowds, whereas the latter demanded audiences, a contrast that the author continues to use throughout the book. Next, the book examines the rise of Christianity, in particular drawing parallels between Jesus and Dionyses. This was very insightful. The book also covers modern festivities such as the modern-day rock concert, American sporting events, and military parades. Overall, this was quite a good sampling of human activities. Unfortunately, the book did omit or skim over some subjects of potential interest. For example, she could have compared the atmosphere at professional sporting events with that at more localized events such as high school football games or Little League baseball games. Or the modern-day US presidential conventions, or the festivities surrounding Chinese New Year in various countries. Of course all of this would only expand the book's length. For what it covered, it was worth the time and effort to read it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

Excellent book detailing some of the lesser known histories of ...

Excellent book detailing some of the lesser known histories of our past, especially in regards to collective forms of joy and ecstasy. Read more

Published 10 days ago by Gabriel

Must read for anyone who thinks they understand dance history!

Superb, intelligent and enlightening!

Published 2 months ago by Lane E Alexander

Moments of Paradise Lost

Ehrenreich gets it right. We cannot become what we need to be as long as we engage in the pursuit of happiness by ourselves. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Kevin Corn

Thank you for writing this Barbara!!

Explains a whole lot about our crazy and often joyless culture. Great book for those that like dance history, as well as religious, cultural and social history. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Happy Feet

Barbara Ehrenreich's Dancing in the Streets: I recommend it highly

This is a wonderful view of world history from the point view of celebration. The author acquaints you with the history of Carnivale-type celebrations from tribal societies to the... Read more

Published 14 months ago by Karl Lisovsky

Wonderful

This is a book that articulated every unspoken and nebulous uncertainty I held about modern western society and supported my belief that we must fight for the right to dance in the... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Ms. L. Gordon

Great Book!

I've been enjoying it so far! It is a great review of Dionysus. It is a very good review of the importance of community celebrations.

Published 18 months ago by Gabriela Duran

Dancing in the Streets book

Fabulous book! Great for anyone interested in the history of good times. Bought it for my son 'the actor'. He's very happy with it . A+

Published 19 months ago by Calvin D. Stender