Studies in Mas: Theory in Motion

Studies in Mas & Carnival Performance: Theory in Motion
with Institute Director, Makeda Thomas
​
4 ONLINE SESSIONS: THURSDAYS - 22 & 29 JANUARY, 5 & 12 FEBRUARY 2026. 5PM-7PM EST.
​​​
In this course, we approach Carnival as “theory in motion”—a living ritual where embodiment, creativity, and political imagination converge. Participants will apply key concepts from Carnival Studies and Performance Studies to analyze mas practices, examine mas as a space of memory, resistance, and relationality, and explore how embodied knowledge shapes Caribbean and diasporic performance. Through close readings, visual and movement analysis, and guided creative/embodied prompts, we investigate how theory emerges through bodies, gestures, craft, and collective play. Together, we ask: How do we theorize Carnival beyond festival? What historical, spiritual, and ecological lineages shape mas traditions? How do Black feminist and decolonial methodologies reframe Carnival analysis? What politics and poetics emerge through design and material practice? How do masmakers articulate theory through aesthetics, scale, and craft? And what future worlds does Carnival imagine and rehearse? The course culminates in the development of a theoretically grounded design, performance, or research idea related to Carnival.​ All sessions will be recorded for independent viewing.​​​​
​
This online module is a program of the Dance & Performance Institute's Carnival Performance Institute.