Diversity, tokenism, non-canonical musics, and the crisis of the humanities in U.S. academia
Abstract
Taking as a point of departure the question of whether Ibero-American music should have a more prominent presence in music history sequences currently taught at U.S. institutions of higher education this essay explores questions about diversity and tokenism in the reproduction of mainstream models of knowledge production. These issues are analyzed vis-à-vis the contemporary attack on the humanities in U.S. academia in order to propose alternative approaches to music education and scholarship that work as critical models to the colonialist perspective that has informed music academia for generations and to the neo-liberal project that has been slowly taking over academia in the last twenty years.Keywords
Music history pedagogy. Diversity. Tokenism. Humanities. Graduate studies system.