Rebecca Dirksen

Rebecca Dirksen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University Bloomington's College of Arts & Sciences. Her work bridges ecomusicology, Haitian and Caribbean studies, and politically engaged music practices, with a focus on environmental justice, sacred ecologies, and creative responses to crisis.

• Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles (2012)
• M.A., University of Roehampton, London (2006)
• B.M., Lawrence University Conservatory of Music (2003)

Dirksen’s research explores intersections of music, environmentalism, and activism in Haiti, including projects on reforestation, archival preservation, and disaster recovery. She co-led the Field to Media: Applied Musicology for a Changing Climate initiative and directs graduate studies in her department.

Recent publications analyze Haitian environmental metaphysics, music’s role in climate resilience, and ethical challenges in trauma-informed ethnomusicology. Her 2020 book After the Dance, The Drums Are Heavy examines carnival and political music in Haiti.

• Interdisciplinary Fellow, Yale Institute of Sacred Music (2020-2021)
• Indiana University Trustees Teaching Award (2019)
• Radcliffe Fellow, Harvard University (2016-17)

Dirksen serves as Senior Editor for cultural figures in the Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography, and her documentary Sacred Drums, Sacred Trees (2019) investigates Haiti’s changing climate through sound.