Music, Diversity, and Social Justice

We see you. We hear you. We must do better, and we reaffirm our commitment to push for diversity and social justice.

The Herbert and Nicole Wertheim School of Music & Performing Arts is committed to providing an academic community whose members represent and embrace diverse cultures.

As artists, musicians, performers, educators and scholars, we support a full creative life for all and are committed to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable nation. Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector. As artists we must hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.

Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society. The prominent presence of artists challenges inequities and encourages alternatives and the visual and performing arts faculty and staff are committed to lead by modeling through action.

Moving Forward

We commit to a process that includes goals and action items with measurable outcomes to improve our social justice policies through creative processes on a continuous basis.

Strategic Goals:

Pursuing cultural consciousness through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies
Working with FIU’s Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access (IDEA) to seek diverse faculty and staff hires, enhance existing policies, and develop new initiatives
Engaging in open dialogues with faculty, staff, and students for creative expressions of culturally diverse artistic experiences

Action Items:

Standardizing diversity, equity and inclusion learning objectives and curricula throughout fundamental music, courses
Committing time and resources to expand a more diverse faculty and student body
Providing existing culturally diverse course offerings more consistently and developing new course curricula that cover a more diverse offering

As creative individuals that reflect society, we must be the actors of change and must promote social justice. We invite you to write to us and contribute to the initiatives and let us know how we can do better at music@fiu.edu.

FIU Music welcomes and seeks a diverse faculty

We strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment in which individuals are treated with dignity, decency, and respect and we are committed to continually challenging ourselves to reflect this value in our actions.

Teaching Diversity in the Classroom

Course Number	Title	Course Desription
MUH 1560	African American Music	Examines the historical influence and development of African American music from its African roots to its dominance in the American popular culture.
MUH 2010	Music History Overview	A survey of the main historical musical periods through a concise analysis of the main representatives of these periods and their milestone works.
MUH 2051	World Music Cultures	This course provides an introductory survey of traditions and transformations of music in global perspective, exploring music both as a phenomenon of sound and a phenomenon of culture (for non-music majors).
MUH 2018	Evolution of Jazz	A history course that surveys jazz styles from mid-19th century to the present. A sociological and musical look at jazz, the personalities and their experience.
MUH 3025	History of Popular Music in the U.S.	Overview of Afro-American and Euro-American popular music and its historical development. Examination of musical style and social context in lecture-discussion format with film and video.
MUH 3060	Latino Music in the United States	Survey of Latin American musical tradition brought through immigration. Examination of musical style and social context in lecture-discussion format with film and performance demonstrations.
MUH 3061	Music of Mexico and Central America	A survey of folk, popular and classical musical traditions in the region. Examination of musical style and social context in lecture-discussion format with film and performance demonstrations.
MUH 3062	Music of the Caribbean	Survey of folk, popular and classical musical traditions and their ongoing connection with Caribbean populations in the U.S. Class includes film and performance demonstrations.
MUH 3073, 5075	Women in Music	Introduces students to women musicians including performers, composers, and researchers in all genres.
MUH 3514	Music of the World MUH 3514 – GL	Survey of folk, popular and classical musical traditions from around the world. Examination of musical style and social context with film and performance demonstrations. Prerequisite: Major in music.
MUH 3541	Music of Latin America: Folklore and Beyond	An overview of the orchestral, chamber, solo, vocal, and electronic music from Latin America written in the 20th century and its relationship to the folk music of the region.
MUH 3570, 5575	Survey of Asian Music	Examines the major Asian musical traditions within the cultural framework of history, arts, and traditions
MUH 3801	Jazz History	An in-depth study of jazz music from its inception to the present day. Specifically designed for music majors, in particular Jazz Studies students. Prerequisites: MUT 1112, MUT 1222
MUH 3813	History of Afro-Cuban Jazz	A study of the history and evolution of Afro-Cuban Jazz, including Cuban popular music and traditional dance forms, folkloric music of African origin, influences from American popular music and early American Jazz, as well as other music from the Caribbean.
MUN 3793, 5795	Latin Jazz Ensemble	An ensemble to provide professional-level experience in the salsa/Latin jazz idiom. May be repeated. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
MUH 5025	History of Popular Music in the U.S.	Overview of Afro-American and Euro-American popular music and its historical development. Examination of musical style and social context in lecture-discussion format with film and video.
MUH 5057	Music of the World	Survey of folk, popular and classical musical traditions from around the world. Examination of musical style and social context with film and performance demonstrations.
MUH 5065	Latino Music in the United States	Survey of Latin American musical traditions brought through immigration. Examination of musical style and social context in lecture-discussion format with film and performance demonstrations.
MUH 5066	Music of Mexico and Central America	A survey of folk, popular and classical musical traditions in the region. Examination of musical style and social context in lecture-discussion format with film and performance demonstrations.
MUH 5067	Music of the Caribbean	Survey of folk, popular and classical musical traditions and their ongoing connection with Caribbean populations in the U.S.. Class includes film and performance demonstrations.
MUH 5546	Music of the Americas	An exploration of the folk, popular, and art music of Latin America.
MUL 4722 C	Cuban Piano Music	The course is a survey of music written for the piano in Cuba from the XIXXXI centuries. Cuba’s diverse cultural and political history will be examined in detail, accompanied by musical examples and analysis.
MUN 1391L, 3394L, 5396L	Gospel Choir	This course consists of the study and performance of sacred music in the Gospel Choir style. Voice technique, musicianship, and performance practice elements will be discussed and utilized.
MUN 3890	Klezmer Ensemble	An ensemble for the study and performance of Jewish Folk Music (Klezmer music). Various forms of Klezmer music will be explored, and harmonic and melodic structure will be studied. Prerequisites: Music majors, by audition.

Moving Forward

We commit to a process that includes goals and action items with measurable outcomes to improve our social justice policies through creative processes on a continuous basis.

Strategic Goals:

Pursuing cultural consciousness through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies

Working with FIU’s Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access (IDEA) to seek diverse faculty and staff hires, enhance existing policies, and develop new initiatives

Engaging in open dialogues with faculty, staff, and students for creative expressions of culturally diverse artistic experiences

Action Items:

Standardizing diversity, equity and inclusion learning objectives and curricula throughout fundamental music, courses

Committing time and resources to expand a more diverse faculty and student body

Providing existing culturally diverse course offerings more consistently and developing new course curricula that cover a more diverse offering

As creative individuals that reflect society, we must be the actors of change and must promote social justice. We invite you to write to us and contribute to the initiatives and let us know how we can do better at music@fiu.edu.

FIU Music welcomes and seeks a diverse faculty

Teaching Diversity in the Classroom

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Tools & Resources

Tools & Resources