World Music and Dance

College of Liberal & Creative Arts

Dean: Andrew Harris

School of Music

CA 140
415-338-1431
Web Site: http://musicdance.sfsu.edu
Director: Dee Spencer
Advisors: Hafez Modirzadeh, Music; Susan Whipp, Dance

Program

Minor in World Music and Dance

Program Scope

The Minor in World Music and Dance provides educational resources for those students interested in global perspectives of music and dance for varying careers as well as for personal enrichment. The subject is interdisciplinary and, in addition to music and dance, includes artistic, historical, geographical, political, humanistic, cultural and social aspects organized under an overreaching core with allowance for focused, in-depth study. Students are introduced to a variety of relevant disciplines, including ethnomusicology and dance ethnology.

Skills in understanding culturally diverse expressions of music and dance increase the graduate’s career opportunities in a variety of ways. This minor offers an educational base for many culture-based areas of study, including teaching, multimedia, theater and other arts, business and travel industries, health professions, bilingual and ethnic studies, social and cultural programming, and graduate study. Creative expression is a central focus of the minor.

This minor carries the following general objectives:

Provide a foundation for knowledge and inquiry into many cultural aspects of music and dance practiced by the world’s peoples.
Develop critical awareness, appreciation of and participation in the processes of aural tradition, and cultural concepts in relation to the individual and society.
Encourage creative thinking in the design of cross-cultural as well as cross-disciplinary projects.

Minor in World Music and Dance

The program consists of 18 units. Each student’s course of study is individualized according to his/her particular goals within the minor. Every interested student should see a designated faculty advisor for information, selection, sequencing of courses, as well as for written approval of transfer equivalents and course substitutions. Contact the appropriate faculty member or the Department of Music and Dance office for the faculty’s office hours.