In this book, leading scholars in the field of Performance Studies consider diverse approaches to this vibrant discipline.

Introduction: The pirouette, detour, revolution, deflection, deviation, tack, and yaw of the performative turn Tracy C. Davis; Part I. Social Polities: History in Individuals: 1. Performance and democracy Nicholas Ridout; 2. Performance as research: live events and documents Baz Kershaw; 3. Movement's contagion: the kinesthetic impact of performance Susan Leigh Foster; 4. Performance matters: Bali and Baliology in the years of living dangerously John Emigh; 5. Universal experience: the city as tourist stage Susan Bennett; 6. Performance and intangible culture heritage Diana Taylor; Part II. Body Politics: The Individual in History; 7. Live and technologically mediated performance Philip Auslander; 8. Moving histories: performance and oral history Della Pollock; 9. What is the 'social' in social practice?: comparing experiments in performance Shannon Jackson; 10. Live art in art history: a paradox? Amelia Jones; 11. Queer theory E. Patrick Johnson.