Arts in the Summer

UNC-Chapel Hill and visiting students can participate in special summer arts performance programs as well as enroll in arts courses, from dance to MakerSpace, all for course credit. Some of the arts highlights can be found below. Students should also check course listings for individual departments, such as Art and Art History, Communication, Dramatic Art, and Music.

Collaborative Drama courses—Maymester

Three courses combine students to create short videos for the half-hour comedy show. Students enroll in one of three courses:

DRAM 290Performance in Documentary Theatre (3)

MAYMESTER. This section is for those who want to make an entry point to Documentary Theatre as Performers.

DRAM 300 Directing (3)

MAYMESTER. This section is for those who want to make an entry point to Documentary Theatre as Director.

Richard Luby Violin Symposium—First Session

MUSC 103/MUSC 112 Richard Luby International Violin Symposium 2021 (Individual & Group Lessons in Strings) (2)

This course offers intensive instruction, performance opportunities, and exchange of interpretation ideas ranging across five centuries of the violin repertoire. Artist-Faculty include Antti Tikkannen and Minna Pensola (Meta4Quartet, Sibelius Academy), Nicholas DiEugenio (UNC-CH), Aaron Berofsky (University of Michigan), Fabian Lopez (UNC-G), Shannon Thomas (Florida State) and Kevin Lawrence (UNCSA). Course dates are May 9-15, with arrival on May 8 and departure on May 16. Program fee. Contact Assistant Professor Dr. Nicholas DiEugenio at nicholas.dieugenio@unc.edu.

Carolina Hip-Hop Institute—Second Session

The Carolina Hip Hop Institute is an 11-day program that immerses students in the art and culture of hip-hop.

Students choose from one of three courses: MUSC 155 (Art & Culture of the DJ), MUSC 156 (Beat Making Lab), and MUSC 157 (Rap Lab), and earn three hours of college credit to satisfy VP (visual and performing arts) requirements. Instructors are experienced, professional artist-educators who will work with students to develop their artistry as well foster skills in entrepreneurship and conflict transformation through hip hop. Each class day has two parts: a focused session with individual teachers and, following a dinner break, jam sessions and discussions among the three classes. No audition is required, but students should be committed to learning or developing skills in rap, beatmaking, or deejaying; some experience is helpful but not required. The program will take place May 20 to May 31, 2024, meeting from 3:00 to 7:30 p.m. The program draws its instructors, structure, and philosophy from the Next Level (https://www.nextlevel-usa.org/) international hip-hop exchange program developed at UNC and has conducted workshops in 30 countries since 2014. Please contact Prof. Mark Katz (mkatz@unc.edu) for more information.

MUSC 155 Art & Culture of the DJ (3)

An exploration of the important, often misunderstood role of the DJ in modern musical life, with particular attention to how DJing challenges traditional notions of music, musicianship, and musical instruments. Guest lectures, demonstrations, and tutorials by visiting DJs form a significant component of the course. MUSC 155 is offered as part of The Carolina Hip Hop Institute.

MUSC 156 Beat Making Lab (3)

An introductory hands-on study of the composition of electronic instrumental tracks for hip-hop and dance music. Students make beats, learn about the history and culture of the art form, and examine beat-making as a case study in entrepreneurship. MUSC 156 is offered as part of The Carolina Hip Hop Institute.

MUSC 157 Rap Lab (3)

An introductory hands-on study of the art of emceeing. Students engage in a rigorous lyricism curriculum, developing the skills to write, recite, and improvise lyrics in live and recorded settings. Students also explore the history of hip-hop culture and analyze the aesthetics of emcees from around the world. MUSC 157 is offered as part of The Carolina Hip Hop Institute.

UNC Summer Jazz Program—Second Session

MUSC 364 The UNC Summer Jazz Program (3)

This five-day course runs Monday through Friday, June 20-24, 2022, from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily (with breaks) and applies to Summer Session II (though the course dates and daily schedule are different than other courses offered during Summer Session II). Students have their choice two attend the workshop in one of two ways:
1. (Non-performance) – Students may opt to enroll in the Jazz History/Music Journalism through social media class at the workshop where they study jazz history and learn basic music skills, and they attend the evening concerts and learn how to write reviews using blogs and other forms of social media. These students are not required to perform during the workshop or to have any prior musical training.
2. (Performance) – Students may opt to enroll to play in a jazz combo throughout the week and to perform in the final Friday afternoon student concert. These students will take the morning jazz theory and improvisation classes, play in a combo, participate in group lessons, sit in with the faculty during the jam sessions in the afternoon, and attend the evening concerts.
APPLICATIONS FOR THE WORKSHOP MAY BE SUBMITTED TO: https://music.unc.edu/unc-cms/workshops/un-summer-jazz-workshop-application-form/
LEARN MORE ABOUT MUSC 364 UNC SUMMER JAZZ WORKSHOP: https://music.unc.edu/summerjazzworkshop
For more information contact, Dr. Stephen Anderson at anderssr@email.unc.edu.

Courses—First Session

ARTS 104 Drawing I (3)

Working out of an observational tradition, this course provides an introduction to the concepts and techniques of drawing. Paying attention to both representation and interpretation, the course is designed to develop fundamental skills, aesthetic sensibility, analytical capacity and creative problem-solving in two-dimensional media.

ARTS 213 Ceramic I (3)

An investigation of clay as a medium; developing technical skills, aesthetic awareness, and historical perspective.

ARTS 313 Ceramic II (3)

Continuation of ARTS 213.

ARTS 413 Advanced Ceramic Projects (3)

Continuation of ARTS 313. May be repeated for credit.
Requisites: Prerequisite, ARTS 313; permission of the instructor for students lacking a prerequisite.

CHIN 361 Chinese Traditional Theater (3)

ONLINE. This course introduces traditional Chinese theater from its earliest development to modern times by examining the interrelation of its elements–music, dance, poetry, and illustration–with performance footage, visual art, and dramatic texts.

MUSC 145 Introduction to Jazz (3)

A survey of jazz music from its origins to the present. The course builds skills in critical listening and blends discussion of musical materials and historical and cultural contexts.

MUSC 146 Introduction to World Musics (3)

The study of music in and as culture. Topics may include the performance cultures of Native America, south Asia, Australia, Africa, east Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

MUSC 148 Introduction to Black Music (3)

This course surveys the history of black music in America from the time of slavery to the present moment. We will also focus on the various historical intersections between black music and other domains of human thought and activity such as: politics, aesthetics, commercialism, and spirituality. No prior music experience is required!

MUSC 239 Introduction to Music Technology (3)

MAYMESTER. A practical study of selected aspects of computerized music technology, including discussions and workshops on topics such as electronic music, audio editing and effects, MIDI sequencing, digital audio workstations, synthesis, and sound design.

MUSC 281 Popular Song in American Culture (3)

The relationship between popular song and culture in American society is explored by focusing on the style(s), function(s), and dissemination of the American music video from the musical shorts of the 1920s up through the present day.

MUSC 286 Music as Culture: Frank Ocean (3)

MAYMESTER. This course will focus on the music of Frank Ocean. We will develop critical listening skills through close examination of his artistic output, while exploring a number of cultural issues through a variety of course materials; these will include academic readings drawn from musicology, cultural studies, critical race theory, and queer studies, along with alternative media forms, such as podcasts, zines, radio shows, and interviews. The course has no pre-requisites, and the instructor welcomes students from a diverse array of academic, artistic, and cultural backgrounds.

MUSC 286 Music and Incarceration in the United States (3)

MAYMESTER. This class explores the musical lives of incarcerated people in the United States, particularly since the early 20th century. At heart, the course examines how people claim and reclaim their humanity through music in a system that is fundamentally dehumanizing. Among the questions that will guide discussion include the following: What roles does music play in the lives of incarcerated people? How have incarcerated musicians and their music been represented in scholarship and by the media? What ethical challenges and considerations face scholars and musicians who engage with incarcerated people? The class will examine a variety of musical genres and combine historical and ethnographic approaches. In the latter part of the class, students will engage with incarcerated musicians in North Carolina.

Courses—Second Session

ENGL 149 Digital and Multimedia Composition (3)

In this class students will practice composing in contemporary digital writing spaces. Students will study theories of electronic networks and mediation, and their connections to literacy, creativity, and collaboration. Students will also develop their own multimedia projects using images, audio, video, and words. Topics include the rhetoric of the Internet, online communities, and digital composition. Meets mostly asynchronously and for two days a week in the morning.

MUSC 121 Fundamentals of Music (3)

Covers the musical building blocks of pitch, melody, rhythm, meter, harmony, and form, along with the notation system used in tonal music. This course will be helpful for students who wish to read, write, and perform from conventional musical notation; to understand the concepts and systems behind music they play, sing, and hear; to improve their ability to understand “by ear” melody, harmony, and rhythm; and to prepare for further academic studies in music theory, composition, or performance.

MUSC 145 Introduction to Jazz (3)

A survey of jazz music from its origins to the present. The course builds skills in critical listening and blends discussion of musical materials and historical and cultural contexts.

MUSC 147 Introduction to the Music of the Américas (3)

An introduction to Latin American music within broad cultural, political, and historical perspectives. We will discuss the large diversity of musical practices from North America, South America, and the Caribbean in relation to the sociopolitical conditions that allowed different communities to express themselves through sounds and music. In our discussions of genres such as samba, tango, salsa and reggaeton, we will discuss the relationship of these genres to concepts such as colonialism, diaspora, migration, and globalization. Students can expect to become familiar with basic listening skills, although no prior musical training is necessary. There are no prerequisites.

MUSC 240 Performance in Southeast Asia: Gongs, Punks, and Shadow Plays (ASIA 240) (3)

The study and comparison of contemporary Southeast Asian performance genres (music, theatre, dance, ritual) in historical and cultural contexts.

MUSC 286 Music as Culture: Topic: Hip Hop Dance and Culture (3)

An introductory hands-on study of the art of hip hop dance and its culture. Students will learn a variety of urban dance styles and well as study their history and culture. MUSC 286 is offered as part of The Carolina Hip Hop Institute.

MUSC 286 Jazz in the Era of #BlackLivesMatter (3)

An exploration of postwar jazz history and criticism, focusing especially on jazz’s contested meanings as a genre, its ascendancy into an institutionalized, globalized music, and the key question of how to study jazz and/as Black music history amidst white heteropatriarchal capitalist supremacy.