SOCIETY FOR MUSIC THEORY – COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS

SOCIETY FOR MUSIC THEORY SOCIETY FOR MUSIC THEORY – – COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMENCOMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN

FOCUS GROUP FOCUS GROUP FINDINGSFINDINGS


IDEAL RESEARCH PLAN:IDEAL RESEARCH PLAN:

10 groups with female graduate students

10 groups with male graduate students

5 with theory grad students

5 with other grad students

5 with theory grad students

5 with other grad students

• representation from across North America

• even distribution of Master’s and Ph.D. students


PARTICIPANTS:PARTICIPANTS:

• 8 female graduate students in music theory

• 4 at the Master’s level; 4 at the Ph.D. level

• 2 universities represented

• both Canada and the US represented


ACTIVITIES:ACTIVITIES:

1. Perceptions of the Discipline I (from the point of view of a music theory graduate student)2. Perceptions of the Discipline II (from the point of view of a musicology graduate student)3. Identification of Barriers and Challenges to Recruitment

4. Exploration of Potential Recruitment Strategies

• undergraduates• graduate students in theory at the Master’s level• students in other branches of music (composition, performance, musicology, ethnomusicology)


PERCEPTIONS OF THE DISCIPLINE I:PERCEPTIONS OF THE DISCIPLINE I:

• music theory is perceived as academic, involving thinking and dealing with the music itself; it is technical

• musicology is perceived as broad and multi-disciplinary; it seeks to create a historical context for the music

• a small number of negative perceptions about music theory

• no negative perceptions of musicology


PERCEPTIONS OF THE DISCIPLINE II:PERCEPTIONS OF THE DISCIPLINE II:

• musicology is perceived as broad[er], wide[r] in scope, multi-disciplinary, sensitive, nuanced, able to step back and see the whole picture

• music theory is perceived as narrow, dull, dry, limited, detailed

• approximately seven in ten of the words or phrases indicated negative perceptions about music theory

• no negative perceptions of musicology


FINDINGS OF ACTIVITIES 1 & 2:FINDINGS OF ACTIVITIES 1 & 2:

• when responding as music theory graduate students, participants showed generally positive impressions of both disciplines

• when responding as “musicologists,” participants showed a positive impression of musicology and a predominantly negative impression of music theory


Overall:Overall:• participants were surprised by the gender differences between musicology and music theory (~50% female vs. ~30% female)

• many of the barriers and challenges identified

were NOT gender-specific

BARRIERS & CHALLENGES:BARRIERS & CHALLENGES:

• some of the barriers and challenges identified were NOT specific to music theory



a) undergraduatesa) undergraduates

• some kind of resistance to numbers and technical representations (not gender-specific)

• lack of exposure to the discipline BEFORE college (not gender-specific)

• undergraduate theory curriculum is very different from what really goes on in the field (not gender-specific)

• [lack of female role models]



• a Ph.D. is very different from a Master’s degree; many people simply don’t want to continue (not gender-specific) (not music-theory-specific)

• time commitment required for Ph.D.; question of when to fit in marriage and children (not gender-specific) (not music-theory-specific)

• group dynamics in “male-prominent” field; men more likely to interrupt each other in seminars, etc.

b) students at the Master’s levelb) students at the Master’s level

• [lack of female role models]



• convincing someone to change fields is not gender- specific nor theory-specific

• people in other fields don’t know what music theorists actually do (not gender-specific)

• lack of female role models

c) students in other branches of musicc) students in other branches of music

• perception that people who go into theory already have a background in the discipline

• negative perceptions about music theorists: “kind of orderly and dull” (not gender-specific)


RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES:RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES:

a) undergraduatesa) undergraduates

• focus on juniors/seniors – concentrate on practical aspects by telling students about teaching assistantships, possibility of making money, etc.

• demonstrate that there is a big difference between undergraduate and graduate-level theory

• go “beyond the syllabus” occasionally in undergraduate teaching

• find some funding for undergraduates to attend

regional or national theory conferences


a) undergraduates, continueda) undergraduates, continued

• set up a mentorship program in which a female faculty member or a female graduate student is paired up with a female undergraduate (either from same institution or from a

nearby institution)• to address the role model issue:

• schools should invite more female guest theorists

• more effort to have female session chairs at conferences

• have a core course taught by a female faculty member (to provide an “early-on” role model)


• more program flexibility: allow part-time attendance, restructure aid so that part-time is possible, support decision to have (and have time for) children; the ingrained attitude in universities of looking at quantity of publications creates a preference for those who have no personal lives

• create a supportive and constructive environment for qualifying exams and learning in general (sometimes the manner in which work is criticized can make students “feel bad” and ready to quit – particularly true for women)

b) students at the Master’s levelb) students at the Master’s level



b) students at the Master’s level, continuedb) students at the Master’s level, continued

• improve atmosphere between faculty and students; students should feel comfortable taking their problems to faculty

• to address the role model issue:

• participants felt that this problem was beginning to correct itself; there was a general perception that there already were more junior theory women faculty members than in the past• some older senior women faculty don’t support maternity leave because they didn’t have it; they should be supportive of initiatives that might encourage women to pursue upper-level work


• interdisciplinary events at individual schools, at which theorists interact with other disciplines (to break the stereotype that theory is narrow); CSW could promote such events• women don’t have as many role models for theory; they should be encouraged to look at professional women in any field (“she’s doing what she’s passionate about – I could, too!”)

• related to the above, make an effort to encourage women to stay in any upper level graduate program

c) students in other branches of musicc) students in other branches of music




POTENTIAL NEXT STEPS:POTENTIAL NEXT STEPS:

• improving music theory’s image

• development of a recruitment tool that:

• demonstrates how woman can and do succeed in music theory

• demonstrates that theory can be broad, interdisciplinary, and sensitive to historical context

• finding a way to foster academic interactions between theory and other branches of music


RECRUITMENT TOOL:RECRUITMENT TOOL:

A DVD or podcast featuring five theorists on the topic of “what I do and why I love it.”

• each should talk for about 7 minutes and include visuals of interesting material from his/her research

• the theorists chosen should demonstrate connections to other branches of music (performance, musicology, composition, ethnomusicology)

• three of these theorists should be women


Documents

SOCIETY FOR MUSIC THEORY – COMMITTEE ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN FOCUS GROUP FINDINGS