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ERIC Number: EJ1249774
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1063-5734
EISSN: N/A
Emphasis and Suggestion versus Musical Taxidermy: Neoliberal Contradictions, Music Education, and the Knowledge Economy
Louth, J. Paul
Philosophy of Music Education Review, v28 n2 p88-107 Spr 2020
For decades, education has been inundated with neoliberal policies described as enabling its structures to adjust to a global knowledge economy. Located at the intersection of such "reform" language and classical liberal economic theory is a troubling paradox--the idea that knowledge should be centrally concentrated in order to "liberalize" education along free market lines. This essay considers implications of centralized knowledge for music education in light of this contradiction and the rhetoric that obscures it. To raise awareness of this paradox, I briefly summarize some of the literature on neoliberalism and state intervention before examining the ideas of an individual skeptical of central knowledge planning despite his pivotal role in the birth of modern educational "reform": Peter Drucker. The ideological collapsing of Drucker's nuanced views by neoliberal interests stands in stark contrast with what could be a less instrumental argument for the development of problem-solving skills for lifelong benefit. Finally, I ask whether we reinforce this contradiction if we champion music's curricular legitimacy and relevance, yet fail to teach students to think musically for themselves as evidenced by prescriptive instructional methods or participation in standardizing musical knowledge through failure to resist the totalizing ideology of the audit culture.
Indiana University Press. 601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47404. Tel: 800-842-6796; Tel: 812-855-8817; Fax: 812-855-7931; e-mail: iuporder@indiana.edu; Web site: http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/index.php?cPath=519_701
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A