Cancel Culture, Shenker and 'race'.

[Bryn]

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/07/at-the-university-of-north-texas-the-mob-comes-calling-for-a-music-theorist/?fbclid=IwAR0_mk15ghUXID288ILN-FZziXFL9aKcKtSh8gFrsY-LrYpK1IXSMlkq83w

For those currently involved in Higher Education, what is your experience in this area? I know Ian Pace has raised the issue on FB but with this situation across the Pond, we need to be prepared to stand up for academic freedom.

[Richard Barrett]

Thanks Bryn for drawing attention to this. Since reading your post I've skimmed through the Ewell essay that sparked the whole thing off, with which I largely agree (with which agreement, if I may, the relevant parts of my own book bear witness), and a few of the responses to it, which give me the impression of nitpicking disguised as a more comprehensive rebuttal of Ewell's arguments, which go far beyond the parochial domain of Schenker and his analytical method. Furthermore I've always had my suspicions about Schenker and his theories. So it's clear to me which side of this particular fence I stand on. It seems clear how and why this is a charged issue in the USA in a way that it isn't in other parts of the world. Looking at Jackson's response to Ewell I suspect that there's a lot more to this dispute than meets the eye. I do think that higher education in music needs to be broadened along the lines that Ewell suggests, and I try to reflect that in the work I do in higher education, and it's apparent that anyone resisting this idea, especially in the USA, is likely under current circumstances, to be challenged, with varying degrees of fairness. Of course the "correct" response to Jackson in an academic context would be to address his arguments in a spirit of academic freedom. But is that possible at all, given the way that politics in the USA inside and outside the academy is so polarised? The issue for me is how a situation like this was allowed to arise in the first place, and there the influence of systemic racism is central.

[french frank]

No longer involved, but on the original news story, I agree, Bryn. Ewell may have a general point (though I take issue with his brushing aside of comparisons with any other kind of prejudice as being people unwilling to discuss 'whiteness' - why should race take precedence over, say, gender, unless you happen to be a black male arguing from a black standpoint?).

Jackson (Jewish) focuses on the criticism of Schenker, and I think he does so with clarity and persuasive arguments from the detailed standpoint of a Schenker expert. That is a defence of Schenker, not of racism and it is absurd for him to be described as 'racist and unacceptable', to warrant an investigation and for his department and journal to be closed down. Very troubling (says an elderly retired academic). Ewell sys he will focus his 'laser beam' ("first things first") on the issue of 'whiteness' , and he does.

[Bryn]

Sorry, the Spectator piece is behind a paywall: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/...lassical-music

[Serial_Apologist]

Very interesting indeed - lots to think about there: thanks very much for reproducing this link, Bryn.

[Frances_iom]

actually it is always interesting to view the source of any page - remarkable what can be found