Urban Issues and the Changing Faces of Music Education

This course will introduce students to the relationship between music and culture by offering biographical, historical, and philosophical background on the teaching of music in urban schools. It will also provide methodological tools to expand students’ knowledge of this relationship, particularly through research and reflection. Students will have opportunity to expand their knowledge of and insights into the effective teaching of music in a 21st-century urban school. By encouraging students to broaden their musical taste and appreciation, this course will also help them to better accommodate the diverse styles that they will encounter in urban teaching situations. This course will introduce students to theoretical positions and research methods in critical theory, culturally relevant pedagogy, and reality pedagogy, and thereby strengthen students’ critical thinking. Students will practice their skills in written communication through required journal entries and text reflections, and oral communication skills through their presentations.