When most people think of a music festival, pairing it with an English class is probably not something that comes to mind. But for Urmila Seshagiri, a distinguished professor in humanities and professor of English at The University of Tennessee, the annual Big Ears Festival is the perfect opportunity to show students how the world of music and humanities intersect.
During the Spring 2026 semester, Seshagiri will teach an English course that covers the Big Ears Festival. Through the course, students will learn about the careers of artists who perform at Big Ears, attend the festival and do a variety of assignments related to the festival and specific artists, including creating a playlist.
Next year will mark the 13th year of the Big Ears Festival, a four-day music festival that takes place in downtown Knoxville. The festival will fall on March 26 to March 29, 2026, featuring performances, literary events, art installations and more. A four-day festival pass can cost over $400, but students admitted into the class will be able to attend for free.
Seshagiri’s first experience with Big Ears was in 2016, leaving her with such an impression that she wanted to pass on the experience to students.
“I recognized in Big Ears something unique, something that perhaps students in a big city like New York or Los Angeles would take for granted as part of a cultural landscape but that is extraordinary in Knoxville,” Seshagiri said in an email statement.
Through exploring Big Ears in the class, Seshagiri hopes to get students thinking about the role the arts play in our collective lives, the connections that can be forged with performers and how the festival impacts Knoxville’s economy.
“Big Ears gathers together everything that makes university education meaningful,” Seshagiri said. “The Big Ears Festival connects all aspects of human creativity — music, dance, visual arts, film, poetry and many, many others. It’s about language and expression through artistic forms — it’s about history and histories.”
Seshagiri says the class is a great opportunity for students to reflect on their place in the world.
“Big Ears enlarges the spirit and the imagination,” Seshagiri wrote in an email statement. “Every musician, every group, arrives here with a story — students who understand those stories and attend a sequence of world-class performances come away energized with new ideas about how they can inhabit their present and their future.”
Seshagiri has many fond memories of artists from Big Ears, including Meredith Monk, Vijay Iyer and Amythyst Kiah. She also has had the opportunity to hear poets like Nikky Finney and Nikki Giovanni read their work. She hopes that this class will emphasize the connection between music and disciplines like English.
“Big Ears is the embodiment of the humanities,” Seshagiri wrote in an email statement. “Every aspect of our study will ask questions about art, humanity and the limitless capabilities of creative expression.”
Hannah Buchanan, a senior majoring in English, has taken the class previously and describes it as a “life-changing experience.”
“It’s a class unlike anything offered at UT, and there’s no one better than Seshagiri to lead it,” Buchanan wrote in an email. “No matter what your major is, Big Ears changes the way you listen and the way you connect.”
Buchanan said that this class has broadened the way she thinks about Knoxville, and she recommends the experience to anyone interested.
“Engaging with the festival is like engaging with a whole new part of Knoxville that I wouldn’t have been able to experience otherwise,” Buchanan said.
Sophia Beadle, a senior majoring in English, also took the class last semester. Beadle described the class as one of the most memorable experiences she’s had at UT.
“Dr. Seshagiri is an endlessly inspirational professor, whose passion and knowledge is evident in her very reflective and intentional approach to teaching a class unique as this one,” Beadle said in an email. “Under her guidance, Big Ears altered my approach to thinking about music and art.”
Beadle also recommends the class to anyone interested, claiming there is something for everybody to discover at the festival.
“It’s not simply a class about music or music festivals, but a truly enriching experience that draws from so many different perspectives and fields of study to create a well-rounded understanding and appreciation for artistic expression in all its different forms,” Beadle said.
Applications for the class are still open until Nov. 7th. For those interested, you can find the link to the application here.
