This course is an introduction to the concept of "performing arts" broadly construed to include not only performance for theater, film, television, dance, and musical performance, but also performance as a practice of self-presentation, social rituals and interactions, in bodily and speech acts; and in linguistic, visual, and other modes of communication.

The concept of the course is mainly guided by Richard Schechner, one of the founders of the field of performance studies. His rich and rewarding guide to performance, Performance Studies: An Introduction, provides a provocative guide to questions that arise when performance is approached in a global perspective. Building on this framework, the course will challenge students to connect broad theories to specific contexts. This involves not only studying established traditions from practitioners like Vakhtangov, Michael Chekhov, and Sandford Meisner, but also critically examining and celebrating performance as a vital part of diverse cultural heritage.

By putting students in the interactive dialogue with the most important events, people, theories, questions of the dynamic and emerging field of performance, the course aims to encourage students to consider the social significance of performance. Specifically, we will explore how performance both reflects and challenges social structures, perceptions, and social inequalities. This course is fundamentally dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusiveness, creating a supportive environment for our culturally diverse students. They will learn specific skills in creating and developing community projects.

Students are required to keep an individual journal throughout the course. Each lecture will make specific critical demands on the student, and students are expected to develop their ability to form judgments and enhance their understanding. As a result, the journal will be an articulation of critical analysis, personal reflection and self/peer appraisal, particularly concerning the course's core themes of identity, community, and social justice.

Guided group discussions as well as a practical project will involve students in participatory activities when they start at the programme, enable them to express themselves and apply the methodologies they study, and eventually let students go beyond their opinions by critically analyzing complex social and aesthetic issues in the field. Students are thus expected to figure out how to "do" performance studies on their own.