Jim Davis

Davis headshot

Dr. Jim Davis 
Ph.D. Theatre, Bowling Green State University
M.A. Theatre, University of Northern Iowa
B.A. Drama/Speech, Clarke College

Dr. Davis is an Associate Professor of Theatre & Performance Studies.  He teaches Theatre History/Theory, American Performance Traditions, Introduction to Theatre Studies and is the course coordinator for Theatre in Society, the TPS General Education course. Much of his teaching and research focuses specifically on the experience of first-year college students.

He's a theatre generalist who works as an actor, director, deviser, dramaturg and puppeteer.  Jim has also published and presented research on the history of comic books, musical theatre in the Harlem Renaissance, fandom culture, and the intersections of performance and professional sports.

Jim is consistently guided by the words of Vera Mowry Roberts, an early leader in academic theatre. “Theatre takes the student into many areas of human knowledge - literature, art, music, politics, economics, philosophy, science, invention - practically exploring all activities and ideas. The study of the theatre can be, and ideally is, the most liberalizing of all the liberal arts."