[Smt-talk] Good Primer for First-Year Students on Gender in Music and Music Theory?

[MICHAEL MORSE]

 The query reminds me of quests for good introductions to Marxist and deconstructionist approaches to music or even, sancta simplicitas, Schenkerian theory. The perceived similarity is that such introductions must perforce be synthetic in some significant degree, presenting students both with a philosophical or social perspective, a perception of (musical) perception and, not least, these two collated intellectually. That's a tall order, regardless of reading. Or, put another way, no wonder perhaps that it's tough to find a reading that corresponds to so complex a task.

  Absent same, why not simply go with what works, i.e., the Babbitt, Taruskin, and other stuff? Mention gender in the course of these other discussions, where prudent and applicable, but aim no higher than sowing the seeds for future course work. Plan B: find a good and satisfactory reading on feminist theory, regardless of any mention of music, let them digest it in the air-conditioned comfort of their own dorm rooms, then do the synthetic stitching to music theory and cases in class.

  Good Luck!

MW Morse
Peterborough
 		 	   		  
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