This book looks at the origins and influence of dance in U.S. universities, focusing on Margaret H'Doubler, who established the first university courses and the first degree program in dance at the University of Wisconsin. The book sees H'Doubler (1889-1982) as both emblematic of her time and as an innovator who made deep imprints in U.S. culture. It shows that H'Doubler, an authentic "New Woman," emerged from a sheltered Victorian world and changed the way individuals thought about both female physicality and higher education for women. The book draws on the discourses of dance history, pedagogical theory, women's history, feminist theory, U.S. history, and the history of the body and adds a new chapter in each of them. Following an introduction, chapters include (1) "Early Twentieth-Century Dance Education and the Female Body"; (2) "Nineteenth-Century Responses to Women's Health and Sexuality: Art, Fashion, Dance"; (3) "Women, Physical Activity, Education: A Nineteenth-Century Perspective"; (4) "Blanche Trilling: Leader and Visionary in Women's Physical Education"; (5) "Margaret H'Doubler and the Liberty of Thought"; (6) "Margaret H'Doubler and the Philosophy of John Dewey"; (7) "Structuring Experience in the Classroom: Margaret H'Doubler Brings Dance to the University, 1917-1926"; (8) "Margaret H'Doubler's Classroom: Educational Progressivism in Theory and Action"; and (9) "Margaret H'Doubler's Legacy: Dance and the Performing Body in the American University." Contains chapter notes and an extensive bibliography. (BT)