KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (TVC) – Students at the University of Tennessee turned performance venues into a classroom.  

Students in English professor Urmila Seshagiri’s course attended the Big Ears Festival. Each conversed with festival officials on funding and scheduling, documented each performance heard and reflected on the events with films and readings in class. 

Attending the four-day event was Sarah-Nicole Jackson, a UT junior minoring in English. She appreciated the opportunity to listen to performances from the Blind Boys of Alabama, Cleo Reed David Byrne, Maruja Limón and Shabaka. 

 “I’ve been able to learn things about these musicians and about these genres and musical traditions that I would have never had the chance to had I not been able to attend the festival,” Jackson said. 

Jackson highlighted Seshagiri’s encouragement in breaking from her comfort zone. 

“We should be willing to consume different stories from different perspectives even if we don’t understand, even if they may not jive with us at first,” Jackson said. 

Jackson and her peers are now preparing for their final projects on the Big Ears Festival. Coursework on the festival has included journals, listening days.