SMT 2021 Meeting Activities
Nov. 6 (Saturday) 9:30am–10:45am | Online using Zoom
Improvisation Studies’ Place with regard to Music Theory’s White Racial Frame: An Open Discussion
Two years ago, as part of the plenary address at SMT, Philip Ewell urged the field of music theory to critically examine its white racial frame, and in the same year, Vijay Iyer offered a critique of improvisation’s position in the field of music theory. In “Beneath Improvisation,” published in the Oxford Handbook of Critical Concepts in Music Theory, Iyer argues that improvisation studies must “take difference seriously” in order to establish a more inclusive critical model that can address the white phallogocentrism of the field of music theory.
Today, improvisation studies occupies a methodologically diverse area within music studies, with scholars specializing in music analysis, music cognition, historical practices, critical theory, computer music, and more. This methodological diversity makes us well-poised—and perhaps especially obligated—to contribute to the reflection, discussion, and reform of the broader music-theoretical field.
At our meeting at SMT this year, we will discuss improvisation studies’ own systemic biases, and its position to contribute to reform within the broader field. Following a brief introduction and prepared comments from Andrew Malilay White, Benjamin Stein, Sean Smither, and Andrew Goldman, we will open the floor for responses and further discussion from our attendees concerning the following questions:
How does music theory’s white racial frame influence improvisation studies in particular?
What are some ways in which improvisation studies might address these biases?
How can improvisation studies—with its particular methods, topics, and focuses—contribute to a more equitable and diverse music theory more generally?
As we ponder these larger questions together, we ask that contributors reflect especially on their own work:
How might my own work embody or respond to music theory’s white racial frame?
How might my own work participate in the erasure of people of color in narratives about improvisation, whether improvisers, composers, listeners, or otherwise?
How might my own work naturalize white and/or Eurological aesthetics?
To what extent do my citation practices contribute to racial bias in scholarship?
How might my own positionality reflect or respond to the whiteness of the academic pipeline?
We invite attendees to consider these questions prior to the meeting to ensure a fruitful and meaningful discussion. We hope you are able to join us.
Andrew Goldman, Chair
Sean Smither, Vice-Chair