[Smt-talk] Female theorists in history

[Stephen Jablonsky]

I have no doubt that when the world of English literature and theater admit that Shakespeare was a boob who could not possibly have written those most sublime works for which he is given credit, and that the true authorship lies in the hands of Amelia Bassano Lanier, the appreciation of the contribution of women to the creative arts will go through the roof. I only hope I live to see it. Her story is a classic case of a brilliant woman forced to create in the dark shadows of the male-dominated world in which she lived. We are all very familiar with the forces that have relegated women to second class status in so many areas of human endeavor. It is not even a hundred years since they got the right to vote in America!



On Oct 16, 2011, at 11:39 PM, Elizabeth Hoffman wrote:

> 
> This is the first time in my decade of subscribing to this valuable listserve that I have been motivated to post, prompted at the moment by what feel to me personally as near-sighted remarks about women (or other minorities) in cultural and intellectual history--and women's motivations today, even if this negative valuation is clearly unintended! I don't mean to pummel Michael Morse, who has strongly felt and carefully thought through opinions, and who does not advocate discrimination per se; but, I was surprised by the comments because of a host of issues they raise, already remarked upon in this thread, and by their deprecatory tone. John Snyder's original post mentioned "in historical context," by the way. 
> 
> The participation of women in the fields of music theory and composition over given historical periods, 
> and the writing of the histories of this are two different phenomena -- both problematic for women in terms of equal opportunity and acknowledgment. Though I'm unable to attend this year's SMT, I will take the liberty of urging the SMT to find a time and place for open discussion of the issues at stake here! to work toward clarification of the logic of these issues, for the entire theory community's sake. 
> 
> A ps-- is there some reason why living female theorists [and perhaps composers] are of de facto no interest? Perspective gained by historical distance is invaluable, but maybe an interesting starting point would be to encourage study of current theoretical work which may nonetheless be having an impact, and which may or may not reflect approaches influenced by the theorist's gender.
> 
> Elizabeth Hoffman
> 
> 
> Associate Professor and
> Director of Graduate Studies
> Department of Music
> New York University
> 
> On Sun, Oct 16, 2011 at 10:13 PM, Andrew Westerhaus <westeraj at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear John (and list),
> 
> Regarding the original posting, there is a rather obscure pedagogical treatise by a female Scottish theorist that uses games to teach elementary music theory and dates from 1803: 
> 
> Anne Gunn (late Young), An introduction to music in which the elementary parts of the science, and the principles of thorough bass and modulation, as illustrated by the musical games and apparatus, are fully and familiarly explained, with copious examples: together with a description of the apparatus, compleat directions for playing the several games, with introductory and additional games, illustrating the different cliffs on a plan entirely new (Edinburgh: Muir, Wood and Company, 1803). [OCLC: 45716748]
> 
> Cheers,
> Andrew
> 
> ----------
> Andrew Westerhaus
> Ph.D. candidate, History and theory of music
> University of Chicago
> westeraj at uchicago.edu
> 
> 
> On Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 1:43 PM, John Snyder <JLSnyder at uh.edu> wrote:
> > Dear Collective Wisdom,
> >
> > A student, looking for a paper topic, has inquired about the possibility of
> > writing
> > on a female theorist (or several), in historical context. I know a number of
> > outstanding
> > female theorists, but must admit that all of them are living, and wouldn't
> > make
> > good subjects for the paper in question. Help, anyone?
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > John
> >
> > --
> > John L. Snyder
> > Professor of Music Theory and Musicology
> > Moores School of Music
> > University of Houston
> > 713-743-3143
> > JLSnyder at uh.edu
> >
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> >
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Associate Professor and
> Director of Graduate Studies
> Department of Music
> New York University
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Prof. Stephen Jablonsky, Ph.D.
Music Department Chair
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue S-72
New York NY 10031
(212) 650-7663



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