On the , Christian A. Johnson Associate Professor of Theater Christian DuComb talks about a range of topics, from his research of Philadelphia’s annual Mummers Parade to the future of arts, creativity, and innovation at ºÚÁÏÍø.
DuComb teaches theater history, dramatic literature, and performance studies at ºÚÁÏÍø. Previously, he taught at Haverford College and Brown University, where he received his PhD in theater and performance studies in 2012.
In his teaching, DuComb uses a range of pedagogical techniques, including group projects, student presentations, web-based research assignments, performance exercises, and excursions to see live theater — to foster an inclusive learning environment in which students of all backgrounds and learning styles are encouraged to participate.
His first book, Haunted City: Three Centuries of Racial Impersonation in Philadelphia (Michigan, 2017), traces the deep roots of Philadelphia’s annual Mummers Parade through the city’s history of blackface minstrelsy and other forms of racial impersonation. His essays and reviews on a variety of topics have appeared in Theater magazine, Modern Drama, Performance Research, Theatre Journal, TDR: The Drama Review, and the Washington Post, as well as several edited collections.
DuComb has received many major grants and fellowships, including the E. Peter Mauk Jr. / Doyce B. Nunis Jr. Fellowship, Andrew W. Mellon Research Fellowship, Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, ºÚÁÏÍø Research Council Garrison Fellowship, and multiple awards from the ºÚÁÏÍø Arts Council.
Each episode of 13, ºÚÁÏÍø’s award-winning podcast, digs into the work of a University community member by asking questions. Episodes highlight the wide array of academic disciplines at ºÚÁÏÍø, with interviews featuring faculty from political science, sociology and anthropology, physics and astronomy, women’s studies, English, Africana and Latin American studies, and many more.
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