Sebastian Calderon Bentin

Sebastián Calderón Bentin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Drama at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. His research bridges performance studies, political theory, and Latin American studies, with a focus on state formations, media, and postcolonial dynamics. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and degrees from NYU, including an M.A. and B.F.A. in Theater and Anthropology.

Education:

• Ph.D., Theater and Performance Studies, Stanford University
• M.A., Performance Studies, New York University
• B.F.A., Theater and Anthropology, New York University

His research interests include theatricality in Latin American politics, media surveillance, and precolonial performance traditions. He has published in TDR: The Drama Review, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, and the anthology Neoliberalism and Global Theaters. His current book project, Baroque States: Theatricality and Television in Contemporary Latin America, examines historical links between baroque performance and political media.

Teaching: Courses include Spectacle and Surveillance, Performance and the State, and Preconquest and Colonial Performance in Latin America.

Awards:

• Routledge Prize (2013) for postgraduate research excellence

As a performer, he collaborates with groups like Every House Has a Door and the International Contemporary Ensemble. He also co-leads a stage adaptation of Luis Buñuel’s The Exterminating Angel.