The Cambridge Companion to the Circus Edited by Gillian Arrighi and Jim Davis. Cambridge Companions to Theatre and Performance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021; pp. xxxiv + 292, 13 illustrations. $99.99 cloth, $29.99 paper, $24.00 e-book

Chapter 2, Sakina M. Hughes's “Reconstruction, Railroads, and Race,” illustrates how the rapid expansion of the circus led to new employment opportunities for African Americans in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. [...]the nouveau cirque has led to the legitimatization of the circus in academ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theatre Survey 2022, Vol.63 (2), p.237-239
Main Author: McMahan, Matthew
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthologies
Book Reviews: Edited by Donovan Sherman, with Christopher Ferrante
Circuses
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Chapter 2, Sakina M. Hughes's “Reconstruction, Railroads, and Race,” illustrates how the rapid expansion of the circus led to new employment opportunities for African Americans in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. [...]the nouveau cirque has led to the legitimatization of the circus in academic institutions through increased scholarly study and training programs. [...]only when the circus was removed from its original context was it recognized as artistic. [...]Anna-Sophie Jürgens's essay “Through the Looking Glass: Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Circus Studies” (Chapter 16) performs a literary review of the imaginative scholarship taking place across various disciplines, including the sciences, literary studies, humor studies, and disability studies.
ISSN:0040-5574
1475-4533
DOI:10.1017/S0040557422000102