Acting with Power

Catalog description

This course combines insights from theater practice and psychological research to demonstrate how power plays a role in everyday social and professional interactions. Students gain insight in how they come across now, and experiment with novel ways of showing up to help them reach their goals. In-class exercises drawn from actor training illustrate how power is decoded and performed, while debriefings and short lectures highlight the most relevant conceptual frameworks and empirical findings from social psychology and management science. Multiple sessions are devoted to experimenting with these novel tools by performing short scenes tailored to what each student is working on, and receiving immediate feedback and suggestions from peers and instructors. Ultimately, this course allows students to question their stereotypes of power, to explore and expand their comfort zone, to engage with the notion of authenticity, and to reflect on the kind of leader they want to be.