In the Spring of 2018, we launched our first Global Voices: Sri Lanka course with the New School. Students in this course learned about the vital music and dance traditions which thrive among the Sri Lankan diasporic community in New York while gaining first-hand experience with work of cultural institutions through the New School’s collaboration with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance (CTMD). The course examined traditional cultural expressions reflecting Sri Lanka’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious diversity–including Sinhalese, Tamil, Burgher, Moor, Vedda, and Malay. Students got hands-on experience working with community members on the organization of events such as social dance nights, and worked to understand how the traditional arts can function as a platform for larger inter-ethnic cultural conversations. Students participated in applied folklore activities, such as program planning, grant writing, and documentation, and engaged in broader issues of immigration, multiculturalism, and issues of representation. 

We are proud to announce that this class will be offered at the New School again this Spring!