Learning to Kneel

Noh, Modernism, and Journeys in Teaching

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Asian, Far Eastern, Drama History & Criticism, Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Education & Teaching, Educational Theory, Philosophy & Social Aspects
Cover of the book Learning to Kneel by Carrie J. Preston, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Carrie J. Preston ISBN: 9780231544290
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: August 16, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Carrie J. Preston
ISBN: 9780231544290
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: August 16, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

In this inventive mix of criticism, scholarship, and personal reflection, Carrie J. Preston explores the nature of cross-cultural teaching, learning, and performance. Throughout the twentieth century, Japanese noh was a major creative catalyst for American and European writers, dancers, and composers. The noh theater’s stylized choreography, poetic chant, spectacular costumes and masks, and engagement with history inspired Western artists as they reimagined new approaches to tradition and form. In Learning to Kneel, Preston locates noh’s important influence on such canonical figures as Pound, Yeats, Brecht, Britten, and Beckett. These writers learned about noh from an international cast of collaborators, and Preston traces the ways in which Japanese and Western artists influenced one another.

Preston’s critical work was profoundly shaped by her own training in noh performance technique under a professional actor in Tokyo, who taught her to kneel, bow, chant, and submit to the teachings of a conservative tradition. This encounter challenged Preston’s assumptions about effective teaching, particularly her inclinations to emphasize Western ideas of innovation and subversion and to overlook the complex ranges of agency experienced by teachers and students. It also inspired new perspectives regarding the generative relationship between Western writers and Japanese performers. Pound, Yeats, Brecht, and others are often criticized for their orientalist tendencies and misappropriation of noh, but Preston’s analysis and her journey reflect a more nuanced understanding of cultural exchange.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this inventive mix of criticism, scholarship, and personal reflection, Carrie J. Preston explores the nature of cross-cultural teaching, learning, and performance. Throughout the twentieth century, Japanese noh was a major creative catalyst for American and European writers, dancers, and composers. The noh theater’s stylized choreography, poetic chant, spectacular costumes and masks, and engagement with history inspired Western artists as they reimagined new approaches to tradition and form. In Learning to Kneel, Preston locates noh’s important influence on such canonical figures as Pound, Yeats, Brecht, Britten, and Beckett. These writers learned about noh from an international cast of collaborators, and Preston traces the ways in which Japanese and Western artists influenced one another.

Preston’s critical work was profoundly shaped by her own training in noh performance technique under a professional actor in Tokyo, who taught her to kneel, bow, chant, and submit to the teachings of a conservative tradition. This encounter challenged Preston’s assumptions about effective teaching, particularly her inclinations to emphasize Western ideas of innovation and subversion and to overlook the complex ranges of agency experienced by teachers and students. It also inspired new perspectives regarding the generative relationship between Western writers and Japanese performers. Pound, Yeats, Brecht, and others are often criticized for their orientalist tendencies and misappropriation of noh, but Preston’s analysis and her journey reflect a more nuanced understanding of cultural exchange.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Doing Aesthetics with Arendt by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book The Philosopher's Plant by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Excellent Beauty by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Transforming America by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book The International Politics of Intelligence Sharing by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Philosophy and Poetry by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Subverting the Leviathan by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Latin Hitchcock by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Not Ours Alone by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Hunters, Herders, and Hamburgers by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Kiku's Prayer by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Democracy Past and Future by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book One Out of Three by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book Sufi Bodies by Carrie J. Preston
Cover of the book The Natural History of the Bible by Carrie J. Preston
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy