{"id":138783,"date":"2023-12-12T00:05:55","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T05:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=138783"},"modified":"2023-12-11T15:29:20","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T20:29:20","slug":"music-education-remains-inherently-racist-scholars-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/music-education-remains-inherently-racist-scholars-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Music education \u2018remains inherently racist,\u2019 scholars say"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Anti-racist war machines\u2019 needed\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Music education programs in the United States \u201cserve a White-normative, Eurocentric model,\u201d and the admissions process for those programs \u201cremains inherently racist,\u201d according to a recent academic paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The paper, titled \u201cDisrupting Racism in Music Education: Conceptualizing Admissions Processes Through the State and the War Machine,\u201d was authored by Erika Knapp and Whitney Mayo, who identify as \u201cWhite scholars doing anti-racist work.\u201d They wrote their paper using an “anti-racist lens drawn from Critical Race Theory.”<\/p>\n

Knapp (pictured, left<\/em>) is a music education professor at the University of North Texas and Mayo (pictured, right<\/em>) teaches music at the University of North Dakota.<\/p>\n

The College Fix<\/em> contacted Knapp and Mayo to inquire about the intersection between critical race theory and music education, solutions to fix the admissions process, and if there were any plans to get their ideas implemented.<\/p>\n

They declined to comment on the record and say they are \u201cchoosing to let our paper speak for itself and will not speak to future initiatives that may or may not be in the works.\u201d<\/p>\n

The professors published their paper through the Mayday Group\u2019s Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education<\/em> journal. The Mayday Group seeks to \u201capply critical theory and critical thinking to the purposes and practices of music education,\u201d according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A key problem is the admissions process, including auditions.<\/p>\n

The authors wrote \u201cmany of these programs promote themselves on the pretense of change while upholding racist structures in regimented and unethical ways, such as utilizing Black and Brown bodies on websites as tokenized markers of how diverse their programs are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The programs do this \u201cwhile maintaining a majority-White student body, or by posting a \u2018Black Lives Matter\u2019 statement on the website banner without coupling it with resources to support those students in gaining acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhiteness is prioritized in cultural and social capital on applications; whiteness is listened for in auditions; whiteness is desired when prioritizing written notation over aural learning; whiteness is cultivated and nurtured in advising and retention processes,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

The paper\u2019s argument is organized based on a conception of the \u201cState,\u201d the \u201cWar Machine,\u201d and the \u201cSoldier-Body.\u201d It comes from a 1980 book<\/a> by postmodernist writers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. The goal of the State is to exert power, the goal of the War Machine is to challenge the power of the State, and a soldier-body is an individual used by the State to maintain its hold on power.<\/p>\n

Within this framework, music education programs are the State, faculty members could serve as \u201cthe State\u2019s military minions\u201d or as part of the War Machine, and prospective students are soldier-bodies, according to the professors. The State is not necessarily a government entity, just anything with power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State views the student\/soldier-bodies as mere tools in their continued quest for superiority and status against other music programs around the country,\u201d the professors wrote. \u201cProspective students are simply potential soldiers towards this end, and the State appropriates current students for its goals, leaving out those who do not serve its interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knapp and Mayo argue that the State \u201cimposes administrative and financial power by controlling the hiring of faculty members who might musick in non-Western ways or on non-traditional Western instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Music professor calls black dad racist for liking Bach<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBudgeting and strategic planning do not allocate funds to hire individuals qualified to provide these offerings,\u201d the authors wrote, because this would require \u201cdiverting funds away from State-established priorities of Western Eurocentric norms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the State’s primary goal is to maintain dominance, which includes Western classical music and, ultimately, White supremacy, the invitation or potential acceptance of other races and cultures is a direct attack on the ideologies of the State,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

The authors argue that the admissions process serves as a \u201cfacialization of the ideal soldier-body,\u201d where the State\u2019s goal is to \u201ccreate a homogenous, ideal face to expand its reach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scholars who build \u201canti-racist war machines might work to demystify and dismantle this gatekeeping process for potential music education students.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Barriers” during the application process include requests for test scores, transcripts, and applications fees. There is also a bias against a “less traditional instrument” or “vocal style.”<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents who might want to enter a music program via a less traditional instrument\/vocal style or one that is outside the classical canon may not be deemed legitimate enough by State standards,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

Knapp and Mayo believe that faculty members of music education programs need to act as a war machine by \u201cengaging in anti-racism\u201d and \u201cunderstanding that disruption needs to occur on both the individual and systemic level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFaculty war machines must also work toward the removal of audition requirements centered solely on Western, Eurocentric forms of musical knowledge,\u201d the professors wrote in their paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe audition serves as an institutional structure designed to filter potential candidates, assessing their fitness toward the School of Music\u2019s predetermined goals and outcomes,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisrupting norms\u201d is a necessity to end white supremacy in music education, the professors said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy bringing individuals to the forefront and privileging their stories and conceptions of themselves, as well as disrupting norms that would challenge such persons\u2019 legitimacy, war machines create the possibility of being anti-racist war machines that disrupt White norms in music education.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> College music department pledges to remove ‘systemic racism’ from curriculum<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGES: University of North Texas; University of North Dakota<\/p>\n

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