UGEC2135 Decolonizing Classical Music

The universal appeal of classical music is masked by a troubled past. It is a complex story of white colonization by European powers, spanning centuries and continents. Classical music has its own colonial baggage, too, with links to slavery profits and other problematic phenomena, whether in the gendered tradition of the “great composers,” or in a thriving piano industry of the early 20th century, which resulted in forced labor and countless deaths in the colonial ivory trade, or in the transnational circulation of opera in and beyond the 19th century, which would not have been possible without the port city networks of rapidly expanding empires.

Importantly, such legacies have led to new forms of advocacy aimed at decolonizing classical music today. This SDG-GE course will examine how current practices around the world, on the back of complex and violent histories, attempt to democratize classical music in lockstep with the needs and concerns of contemporary society. What does it mean to decolonize musically in the 21st century, recenter marginalized individuals and groups in classical music, and make classical music more sustainable and reflective of a fair society? These questions run through the three themed sections of the syllabus: i) gender and representation, ii) equality, diversity, inclusion, iii) institutions and justice. We will explore related ideas and concepts, in connection with past contexts and present practices, including orchestras, opera companies, community projects, and social enterprises. By drawing on a variety of perspectives, we will discuss how and why decolonizing classical music matters, to whom, along with its ongoing challenges for improving and enhancing equity.

This course engages directly with SDGs 5, 10, and 16. Through the three themed sections, we will assess how classical music practices today can be observed to respond to the identified SDGs, particularly in terms of further empowering indigenous women musicians, reducing age-old inequalities, and promoting greater social justice from within institutions that can better reflect the untold tales and human experiences of classical music.

Neither score-reading nor prior musical knowledge is required for this course.