Dr. Maria Paula Survilla
Professor of Music
Office:  FAC 217
Phone: (319) 352-8343

Dr. Survilla holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Ottawa, a Master of Arts in Musicology from the University of Michigan and Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology/Musicology from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Survilla is Professor of Music at Wartburg College where she holds the Slife Professorship in the Humanities. She is an ethnomusicologist specializing in the music of Belarus. Her research interests include the role of contemporary music (urban rock and popular genres as well as rural ritual music) in the construction of personal and national identities in post-Soviet Belarus. She began fieldwork in Eastern Europe in 1989 and was funded as a Fulbright-Hayes scholar in 1993. She presents her research throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Her book, Of Mermaids and Rock Singers: Placing the Self and Constructing the Nation Through Belarusan Contemporary Music was published by Routledge (Taylor and Francis Group) in 2002. Her article, "Ordinary Words: Sound, Music, and Meaning in Belarusan-Language Rock Music" appears in the book Global Pop, Local Talk: Language Choice in Popular Music Throughout the World (2003). In addition, she contributed the articles “Miensk” and “Belarus” to the Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Oxford, 2005). Dr. Survilla was invited to speak at the Harvard Symposium, The Arts, National Identity And Politics In Belarus (Harvard University, October 13-16, 2005) where she presented “Back in the B.S.S.R.” or “And the Beat Goes On”: Adaptations in Sound and Vision in the Belarusan Rock Movement 1989-2005.” She has also published articles on music and identity amongst the Belarusan Diaspora in central Canada and the eastern United States. She actively contributes to discourses in ethnomusicology and Slavic Studies. Dr Survilla’s work also touches on democracy and the building of civil society through higher education. Her latest presentation include:

“Access to Global Discourse, Critical Thinking, and Belarusian Civil Society” LAZARSKI UNIVERSITY, WARSAW, POLAND For the symposium: Returning to Europe, Belarus Past and Future, October 10, 2010.

“Higher Education and Civil Society in Belarus: Considering Scopes and Perspectives,”CENTER FOR BELARUSIAN STUDIES, WINFIELD KANSAS For the symposium: Higher Education and Civil Society in Belarus, October 6-7, 2009.

“How the Web Ups the Volume: Virtual Space and Belarusian Music,” CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF SLAVISTS, LEARNED SOCIETIES CONFERENCE, Ottawa, Canada, May 28-31, 2009.

“Radio, youtube, and Music Websites: Cultural Constructions and Intimate Responses in Belarusan Contemporary Virtual Space,” HARRIMAN INSTITUTE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ASN (The Association for the Study of Nationalities) 2009 World Convention Columbia University, April 23, 2009.

“Belarusian Sound “Affects”: Troping the Poetic Soundscapes of Janka Kupala and Jacub Kolas in Three Musical Contexts,”ANGLO-BELARUSIAN SOCIETY, LONDON International Kupala-Kolas Colloquium, City University London, Pushkin House, 30.10 – 01.11.2008.

“Miniatures of Sound and Meaning in Radio Svaboda” INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF POPULAR MUSIC. Iowa City, University of Iowa, April 27, 2008.

As an ethnomusicologist, Dr. Survilla explores music/culture in various course offerings. For example, she combines her interests in the May Term travel course that takes students across southern France and northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. The mixture of medieval history, the anthropology of ritual, music and cognition, and the phenomenon of spiritual tourism offer a multi-faceted look at the power of the pilgrimage in the past, as well as for contemporary pilgrims. The class will be offered again in 2012.

Dr. Survilla currently teaches:
Introduction to Ethnomusicology
Anthropology of the Pilgrimage
Listening to Popular Music
Living in a Diverse World: Sounds of Protest and of Celebration: An Introduction to World Music,
Music Theory and Ear Training I,
Music History I (Medieval - Baroque),
20th Century Music,
Perspectives in Music (Capstone)

As the Slife Professor of the Humanities for Wartburg College, Dr. Survilla has started the Hearthside Project, a program through which students have the opportunity to read across the disciplines in tandem with faculty members. Students apply for the 30 slots available each year and receive their books free of charge. This is the inaugural year of the project and it is proving to be very popular amongst students and faculty.

Dr. Survilla also served as the speaker at this year’s Endowed Chairs and Distinguished Professors Convocation this past October. Her presentation was entitled Audentes fortuna iuvat: Reimagining the Humanities from Legacy to Cultural Nexus.
 

 
In addition to her position at Wartburg College, Dr. Survilla serves as Executive Director of the Center for Belarusian Studies (www.belarusiancenter.org). The Center’s mission is to enable the healthy development of democratic civil society in Belarus through Higher education initiatives. Dr. Survilla’s position involves advocacy for Belarusian programming in higher education, conference presentations, the selection of international scholars for residency in the U.S., grant writing, and public relations.

She is past President (2005-2010) of the North American Association for Belarusian Studies; She served as Vice-President from 2003-2005. She published Presidential Reports for Naviny: The Newsletter of North American Association for Belarusian Studies (Fall 2006; Spring 2007). Topics included The Mediation of Belarusian Identity; Student Engagement in Belarusian Culture and Politics on a Midwestern Campus.