eColumns – Page 8 – Mayday Group

June 15, 2020August 19, 2020Discuss, Newsfeed, Newsletter

Statement of Solidarity and Commitment to Antiracism

Statement of Solidarity and Commitment to Antiracism

The Steering Committee of the MayDay Group denounces violence against Black individuals and communities and stands with those who seek justice through political action across the globe. Within this moment of global uprising against white supremacy and police brutality, we affirm that Black Lives Matter. Black communities have long struggled against violence and oppression-an historical continuation of anti-Black plantation logics and colonial genocide. Police violence is a legacy of capitalism; surveillance and the logic of incarceration have become entrenched in schooling; and years of neoliberal policies have widened racialized gaps in access to public education and health globally. This moment of heightened attention toward white-supremacist policing is also set against the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing into further focus racist and colonial systems of oppression that influence processes and relationships.

The state-sponsored murder of George Floyd represents yet another tragedy in a centuries-long history of white-supremacist violence that permeates all sectors of society, including every aspect of the music education profession (e.g., publications, conferences, social media, curricula, pedagogy, hiring practices). Unless and until White music educators are willing to acknowledge their privilege, take responsibility for their past and the impact it has on the present, and commit to creating a future steeped in justice, the list of names to which George Floyd has been added will never end. For too long Black people-along with Indigenous people and People of Color-have been called upon to work against the tide of systems steeped in white privilege. We commit to joining this work, seek to thoughtfully examine the role of white privilege in our history as an organization, and to dismantle the structures that perpetuate this privilege as the MayDay Group moves forward.

The MayDay Group functions as an international think tank of music educators who aim to identify, critique, and change taken-for-granted patterns of professional activity, polemical approaches to method and philosophy, and educational politics and public pressures that threaten critical communication and praxis in music education. Our ongoing debate about these matters has resulted in a two-fold purpose: (1) to apply critical theory and critical thinking to the purposes and practices of music education, and (2) to affirm the central importance of musical participation in human life and, thus, the value of music in the general education of all people. Our work has been guided by two iterations of Action Ideals (1997, 2011), aimed at furthering critical thought in the music education profession. Though these ideals contextualize and frame our work, we recognize they are flawed and uphold structures of white supremacy. Therefore, they require revitalization.

The Steering Committee of the MayDay Group calls upon our membership to join us in taking an active role in anti-racism and anti-oppression work. We recognize a general weakness and lack of urgency in our Action Ideals. We also acknowledge that, as a deliberative consensus group, we are not well-suited to immediately respond in moments of urgency. In this vein, the Steering Committee commits to the following actions for change:

Review and update our policies, presence, and ability to more rapidly employ social media in critical moments.
Review and revise all Action Ideals this year (2020-2021) starting with our third ideal because of its relevance to current events and our upcoming Colloquium’s theme.
- Send the revised Action Ideal III for approval this summer to the membership at large.
- Present the remaining revisions at the postponed Colloquium (2021).
Issue a renewed Call for Proposals for our postponed Colloquium (2021).
- Invite those who have been accepted already to revise their work to address the revised Action Ideal III.
- Review additional proposals and fill or create focused slots that address anti-racism scholarship.
Extend the anti-racism scholarship that MDG has supported over two decades by developing a special issue of ACT focused on anti-racism.
Invite scholars to submit anti-racist scholarship to TOPICS.
Host events through social media on anti-racism with invited guests.
Offer monetary assistance for Colloquium attendance to those who may encounter difficulty independently accessing funds.
Explore and accept from membership ideas for other approaches by which we might take on anti-racism and anti-oppression work.

We cannot move forward as a profession until we begin to grapple with our past. Education has been a system of legalized and monetized white supremacy for which generations of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color have paid an immeasurable price. That cost must be acknowledged, and the privilege that accrued to some at the expense of others must be reckoned with and redressed. We endeavor to listen, learn, and grow both individually and collectively as an organization. Please join us in these efforts.

The MayDay Group Steering Committee

Vincent Bates

Julie Beauregard

Deborah Bradley

Terry Gates

Scott Goble

Juliet Hess

Matt Koperniak

Tom Malone

Anita Prest

Jesse Rathgeber

Tom Regelski

Daniel Shevock

Danielle Sirek

Brent Talbot

Darrin Thornton

Janice Waldron

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020Newsfeed, Newsletter

Newsletter (May 26, 2020)

The Editorial and Production teams of Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education are pleased to announce that ACT 19(1) is now online at http://act.maydaygroup.org/current-issue/. This issue features an historical document from MayDay Group co-founder Tom Regelski (first written in 1993). To read more about Tom Regelski and the MayDay Group, MDG members can check out this Wikipedia link to his work, established by a former student of Tom’s and recently accepted by Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Adam_Regelski

Below, you can find information on the 2021 Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching, Louisiana Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference, and Re-Envisaging Music: Listening in the Visual Age. There are also calls for Engaging Students Volume 8: Beyond Western Musicalities and a special issue of Notes on digital humanities and music pedagogy. Additionally, there is information on position vacancies at Briar Cliff University, Douglas College, and the Manitoba Band Association.

Announcements

Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 19(1) Now Online!
Art of Teaching Music Summit – May 28-29, 2020
Conn-Selmer Institute – Creating a Culture of Musical Excellence – June 8-9, 2020

Conferences & Calls

2021 Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching
Engaging Students, Volume 8: Beyond Western Musicalities
Special Issue of Notes – Digital Humanities and Music Pedagogy
Louisiana Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference
Re-Envisaging Music: Listening in the Visual Age

Position Vacancies

International Society for Music Education – Editors, Co-Editors, Editorial Boards
Director of Choral Activities – Briar Cliff University
Director of Performing & Fine Arts – Douglas College
Executive Director – Manitoba Band Association

Read the full newsletter here: https://bit.ly/2XyQ1W3

May 15, 2020Newsfeed

ACT 19(1) Now Online

The Editorial and Production teams of Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education are pleased to announce that ACT 19(1) is now online. This regular issue of ACT features an historical document from Tom Regelski (first written in 1993), along with a diverse range of perspectives from authors Robert Gardiner, Robin Rolfhamre, Jody Stark, Sanna Kivijärvi & Lauri Väkevä, Dan Shevock, and Janice Waldron & Kari Veblen, and an introduction by the editors, Deb Bradley and Scott Goble. Please check it out at http://act.maydaygroup.org.

March 18, 2020March 18, 2020Discuss, Newsfeed, Newsletter

Newsletter (March 16, 2020)

In this edition of the newsletter, please find COVID-19 announcements for MayDay Group (MDG) Colloquium 32 (monitoring), International Society for Music Education (ISME) (monitoring) and Eudaimonia and Music Learning (online), as well as the World Music Pedagogy Course.

The MayDay Group is delighted to share a book announcement for The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen’s Legacy in Music Education, edited by Randall Everett Allsup and Cathy Benedict. Congratulations!

There are also calls for the Journal of Popular Music Education (Women in Popular Music), Transcultural Hip-Hop, and The Orff Echo, as well as numerous position vacancies.

Announcements

Conference updates due to COVID-19
Book Announcement – The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen’s Legacy in
Music Education
World Music Pedagogy Course

Conferences & Calls

Women in Popular Music: Their Musical Education and Pedagogical Inspirations –
Journal of Popular Music Education

Transcultural Hip-Hop: Constructing and Contesting Identity, Space, and Place in the

Americas and beyond
Collaboration – The Orff Echo

Position Vacancies

Vocal Music Education & Instrumental Music Education (two positions) – Wayne State University
Assistant Professor of Choral Music – Concordia College
Assistant Professor of Music Education (Instrumental Music) – Indiana University Southeast
Term Instructor of Cello and Music Education – University of Alaska Fairbanks
Assistant Professor (Coordinator of Choral Activities) – Western University
Assistant Professor of Music Education (One-Year Term) – DePauw University
Associate Director of Choral Activities/Music Education – University of Wyoming
Full-Time Lecturer in Music Education and Director of Choral Activities – Case Western Reserve University
Assistant Professor of Music/Coordinator of Music Education – Florida Southern College
Instructor of Keyboard Music (Tenure-Track) – Raritan Valley Community College

Read the full newsletter here: http://bit.ly/2U0FHFP