Performing Arts Abroad: Global Music

Live and study in two countries in Southeastern Europe over three weeks. Cultivate an appreciation for the various styles of music in Southeastern Europe and learn how music represents, resists, and transforms cultural norms.

• Live and study in two countries in Southeastern Europe over three weeks.
• Challenge your assumptions about music: How do different peoples make the sounds they (and we) call music? How is music used as propaganda? How are traditions passed onto the next generation through music?
• A hands-on, field-based experience - attend performances, meet musicians, and explore local soundscapes.

Program dates:
May 17 - June 8, 2024 (Program begins in Dubrovnik, Croatia and ends in Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Locations:
You'll spend two weeks at RIT Croatia in the historic city of Dubrovnik, where the summer months come alive with festivals and music celebrations. In the final week of the program, you'll travel to nearby Bosnia and Herzegovina, an area of southeastern Europe known for its cultural and historical heritage, natural beauty, a unique mix of cultures and faiths, and music that blends Slavic, Turkish, and Central European influences.

Course Details:
While in Croatia, the course will be taught by local Croatian faculty. The study tour to Bosnia and Herzegovina will be led by RIT Rochester faculty, Erica Haskell, Director of RIT School of Performing Arts. You'll take one class for 3 credits.

• FRNT 202 - Music & Global Culture (3 credits)
  
  An introduction to music and culture of global music beyond the Western tradition. You'll listen to and analyze music, engage in readings, lectures, and discussions, and develop an individual fieldwork project to discover how music functions within different world cultures. Experiencing the music styles of Southeastern Europe will give you a new perspective on how people articulate, resist and transform cultural norms through music.
  
  Music can reflect a community's experience and become a catalyst for political and social change. Through this course, you'll gain a deep appreciation and interest in how different musics are created, performed, used, and passed on to future generations.
  
  As part of the class, you'll delve into a fieldwork project that involves documenting and interpreting music in Southeastern Europe through fieldwork methods: in-person observation, interviewing, recording, and understanding the meanings of music among a group of people.
  
  No pre-reqs. No prior music knowledge is necessary. Course can count towards a music minor or music immersion, or GE Artistic Perspective.

Application deadline: February 15, 2024

Program Cost: Student budget worksheet - outlines all program costs (OUTDATED from summer 2023 program). Financial aid may cover some program costs. Students should take a copy of the budget worksheet to a meeting with RIT financial aid prior to the application deadline. Join the Croatia summer programs interest list and we will send you a copy of the summer 2024 budget once it is available.

Scholarships:

• RIT Education Abroad Travel Grants ($500-$1,000)
  All students with pending applications in the RIT Study Abroad Compass for this program will be automatically considered for an RIT Education Abroad Travel Grant. You will be informed of your scholarship status shortly after the application deadline. Scholarships awarded based on financial need.
• Other scholarships: RIT Study Abroad Scholarships, National Study Abroad Scholarships

To Apply

1) Make an appointment with study abroad advisor, Myles Chalue, to go over required application steps - choose date and time

2) Start an application in the Compass.

COVID-19 & Study Abroad

The RIT Education Abroad office is constantly monitoring how COVID-19 is affecting international travel, with student safety as our top priority. While RIT no longer requires students to be vaccinated, we highly encourage study abroad participants to stay up-to-date with immunizations, boosters and social distancing polices. In fact, study abroad partners and vendors, travel providers and foreign governments may have different requirements and it is the students responsibility to understand and adhere to all requirements and guidelines.