The MA and PhD programs in Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies emphasize our collective interest in theatre, dance, performance, and cultural politics. For us, this means teaching classes that explore performance on stage, in studios, and in everyday life to highlight the cultural, political, material and ideological dimensions of performance practices – both past and present. Studying performances across a broad range of cultural contexts –in theatres, dance studios, galleries, rituals, the media, the streets, the political arena, mass spectacles, interpersonal interactions etc. – helps to capture the potential performance has to frame critically-nuanced responses to public events, and thus to model politically and ethically engaged forms of public life.

Our areas of program specialization that structure our curriculum and degree requirements reflect this focus. They include:

• Canadian Theatre, Dance and Cultural Politics
• Postcolonialism and Globalization
• Cultural Policy and Theatrical Economies
• Gender and Sexuality
• Embodiment and Cultural Memory
• Environment and Cultural Geography
• Performance and Popular Culture
• Critical Pedagogy and Community Engagement
• Intermediality and Technology

We encourage our students to develop an interdisciplinary understanding of theatre, dance, and performance by taking courses, and working closely with, supervisory faculty who come from diverse backgrounds in a range of disciplines including Theatre Studies, Performance Studies, Anthropology, Business, Cinema and Media Studies, Dance Studies, English, Environmental Studies, Humanities, Gender, Feminist, and Women’s Studies, Nursing, Sociology and Visual Arts. Students also have ample opportunities to engage in performance practice through coursework, workshops, and department activities. Click here for more details.

We take seriously York’s commitment to forging a just and sustainable world through critical and artistic inquiry and encourage our students to do the same.