Women, music, and music education: FTM11 Conference

When you think of the history of music education do the names Frances Clark, Lila Belle Pitts, and Julia Crane ring a bell? How about Mabelle Glenn, Marguerite Hood, Eunice Boardman, or Consuela Lee? All of these women and of course countless others had, and continue to have, a tremendous impact on music education. In light of the upcoming Feminist Theory and Music Confernce or FTM11 conference at Arizona State University, we might pause to reflect on ways that music education reflects the contributions of women musicians and educators but in various ways has not been as inclusive of their perspectives as it might seem on the surface. For example, the recent exhibit on women in rock and roll at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while positive might make us wonder why the history of women in rock is not part of the general history of rock, why it is extra to the “norm?” In other words as Audrey Bilger writes in Ms. Magazine “We know women rock tell us something new”. The history of rock or any other genre or aspect of music as it is told and learned should be inclusive of all who are part of its history. What types of parallels might exist in music education? When women and their perspectives are excluded from particular canons, whether they be composers, performers, songwriters, producers, educators etc. those who are present in the canon and their thinking, approaches, musicianship etc. can become “normative” or considered the norm.

Music educator researchers have worked dilligently to shed light on the process and results of these norms. Members of the Gender Research in Music Education (G.R.I.M.E) MENC special research interest group and International organization among others have made extremely important contributions to our understanding of gender issues in music teaching and learning. The GRIME sponsored journal G.E.M.S is currently available online up to its 2008 edition.

Thanks to Visions of Research in Music Education the Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning is now available online in which Volumes 4 & 5 Issues 5 & 1 contain some foundational articles addressing gender and music education and serve as fantastic entry points into feminist theory applied to music teaching and learning.

Much of the discussion of gender in music education tends to focus on the degree to which young women or men are included in certain aspects of music programs along with a long history of research on gender stereotypes of instruments – both important issues. Thanks to the important research and thinking over several decades of music education scholars we can also consider additional issues that potentially impact our students on a daily basis. For example to what extent are women represented in the music listened to and performed in music curriculum and how have they been historically excluded from our curricula? How does the inclusion and exclusion of women/men in our curriculum shape our students’ perspectives and understanding of music and musicianship? In what ways might our pedagogies reflect a particular gendered perspective? How do power dynamics operate in our classrooms and ensembles? Whose voices might we be unintentionally silencing in our programs and how might this take place? How might the ways we integrate technology be gendered? How are our students makign sense of their gendered identities in our music programs and how might our curriculum and pedagogy impact this ongoing process?

The Feminist Theory and Music Conference 2011, celebrating its 20th Anniversary will be held September 22nd-25th at Arizona State University and promises to address these and many other issues. This conference brings together foci on music history, theory, musicology, performance, composition, education and many other ways of being musical in the world with a focus on gender and feminist theory. Below is a schedule of the conference. Take a look at the various topics and issues being addressed at the conference and see if any inspire you to strike up a conversation with students/colleagues, adjust your curriculum pedagogy, or engage in some research of your own. And of course if you able, attend the conference!