Just as the study of art history or literature can form the center of a liberal arts education, so too can the study of drama. Indeed, the nature of drama as a performed art distinguishes it from most other literature and demands an understanding of how performance helps to create meaning. The drama major draws on the resources of both the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Speech at Northwestern. Following broad guidelines, students design their own programs, choosing approximately half their courses from WCAS departments such as African American Studies, Classics, Comparative Literary Studies, English, History, and modern languages, and the remaining half from the departments of Theatre and Performance Studies and the cross-school Integrated Arts Program. Another advantage of the drama major is its smallness.
Students meet regularly with the program adviser to plan their course of study.
Varying paths result. Some majors focus on one area of production such as acting, design, or playwriting while also gaining a broad familiarity with the history of drama and theatre. Other majors focus on dramatic literature as an integral dimension of cultural history while also taking introductory courses in the practical arts of performance. Still other majors focus on an area of special interest for example, women in drama or drama in Hispanic culture while also surveying the field more broadly. The drama major at Northwestern is one of the few programs in the country that allows students to integrate the study of text and performance in such diverse ways.