Marjorie is a senior instructor in Musicology. After attending a national disciplinary conference and attending a number of sessions on issues of diversity and representation in musicology, Marjorie is overwhelmed and inspired by the ideas shared by colleagues. She reflects on her newly forming knowledge about the underrepresentation of women and people of color in the scholarship of musicology and the erasure of their contributions in the canon of music theory and contemporary musicology.

Marjorie resolves to address these disparities in her own curriculum. After additional self-study and consultation with colleagues, Marjorie revises the learning outcomes and lesson plans of her next course to center on the contributions of women and people of color. Additionally, Marjorie includes a unit on the historical and structural conditions that created and continue to sustain the erasure of women and people of color in musicology.

Key Take-Aways: 
  • The Issue: Marjorie raises her consciousness to the erasure of women and people of color in musicology and recognizes such erasure in her own curriculum. 
  • The Deliberation: Marjorie facilitates her own self-study and consults with colleagues. Marjorie redesigns her course to resist the erasure of women and people of color and also adds a lesson plan to help students understand the structural conditions that contribute to the phenomena of erasure.
  • The Growth: Marjorie finds opportunities within her own sphere of influence to resist the structural inequities that underpin the discourse of her discipline.

View More Case Studies

Eli and the Design Committee – Bringing Extra Seats to the Table
Alvina and Natalie – Shifting Mindset for World Travel
Steven – Diversifying Media Exposure
The LGBTQ Resource Center Team – Attending to World Perspectives on Gender Identity
Magali and the Student Life Team – Reorienting Services for Global Orientations