| Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy | |
| Author: | Barbara Ehrenreich |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Subject: | Social history |
| Publisher: | Metropolitan Books |
| Release Date: | January 1, 2006 |
| Media Type: | Hardcover |
| Pages: | 336 |
| Isbn: | 978-0-8050-5723-2 |
| Dewey: | 394.26 22 |
| Congress: | GT3940 .E47 2007 |
| Oclc: | 70718693 |
Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy is a book authored by Barbara Ehrenreich.
The author coins the term "collective joy" to describe group events which involve music, synchronized movement, costumes, and a feeling of loss of self. There is no precise word in English to describe the phenomenon.
The book describes cycles of creation and suppression of collective joy events. The events generally arise spontaneously and are regarded as dangerous (see Collective hysteria, Riot). The powerful elements of society gradually convert the participants into spectators. This conversion drains the events of their power, and the cycle begins anew. The author describes Western Society as particularly lacking in such events and describes current and recent examples of Collective Joy events.