... eColumns >> music, equity, and social justice >> introduction

Welcome to the MayDay Group ecolumn for Music, Equity, and Social Justice!

The general purpose of this column is to provide a place where those of us engaged in education for social justice may share resources, and discuss through the dialogue forum issues related to educating for social justice.

As the coordinator of a column dedicated to social justice, I’d like to begin by letting readers know where I stand. My particular interest is in anti-racism pedagogy, also known in some corners of the world as critical multiculturalism. Anti-racism is a form of critical pedagogy, defined as an action-oriented, educational and political strategy for institutional and systemic change that addresses the issues of racism and the interlocking systems of social oppression (sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism). Although sharing many things in common with (liberal) multiculturalism, anti-racism education addresses oppression at the systemic and institutional level, whereas (liberal) multiculturalism locates the need for change within individuals. Putting the onus for change on the individual leaves systemic oppressions intact and self-perpetuating. Because there are so many multiculturalisms, and individual understandings of the term can vary greatly, I prefer to make use of the language of anti-racism rather than critical multiculturalism. When I use the term multiculturalism, I usually mean the liberal form commonly advocated for by school boards and governments.

Anti-racism acknowledges the intersections of oppression, but maintains race as the primary lens for analysis. Therefore, when our discussions or questions turn to issues more specifically focused on gender, I may from time to time call in reinforcements from my friends from GRIME (Gender Research in Music Education), or my friends in various departments of women’s studies, special education, sociology, or cultural studies to help us sort out the issues.

So, how do music and anti-racism education fit together? It seems like a perfect fit to me, since I am passionate about many of the world’s musical practices. What better way to deconstruct racism and other oppressions with our students than through the varied and wonderful ways humans make music? Gayatri Spivak once asked, “Can the subaltern speak?” My answer is, Yes – particularly when she’s singing (or playing an instrument, or dancing ...).

I anticipate some great cybertalk with ya’ll ...

Biography

Debbie is an Assistant Professor of Music Education in the Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned the PhD in Education in the Dept. of Sociology and Equity Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (OISE/UT). Her dissertation, Global Song, Global Citizens? Multicultural Choral Music Education and the Community Youth Choir: Constituting the Multicultural Human Subject is a critical ethnography investigating how an anti-racism praxis of world music (global song) may be performative in adolescent identity construction. Debbie has taught choral and general music in schools and community settings for over ten years. She holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education from the University of Toronto. In addition, she earned the A.R.C.T. in organ performance from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto, was awarded the Artist Teacher diploma from the Choral Music Experience Institute, Arvika, Sweden, and has studied Ewe drumming and dance in Canada with Kathy Armstrong and in Dagbamete, Ghana, with Kwasi Dunyo.