Music 301/501
The History of Women in Music
The study of women in the field of music is an absorbing, relatively new subdiscipline within music history or musicology. This is not to say that the role of women is new. Women have been involved in music-making since the dawn of time, albeit often under adverse conditions. But there has been little attention paid to women's roles until the latter part of the twentieth century. Informal surveys of knowledgeable musicians and music teachers will often turn up no responses to the request to name a few women composers. The reasons for these omissions will be studied in this course, along with the works of women composers, the performances of women performers, and the work of women teachers and patrons. Along the way, we will study the lives of these women and the social structure surrounding them.
There are many ways to approach this field of study. We can take a straight historical path; we can examine composers versus teachers versus performers. If we use the term "Women's Music," we evoke different ideas in many different people, from music written by a woman to feminist theme music, to music addressing lesbian's issues; other uses of this term connote ladies' amateur music and music produced by members of music clubs. Another related avenue of investigation is gender issues in the music itself, such as are explored in the writings of Susan McClary. We will look at all of these approaches and probably more. At the root of it all is the perception of the need to re-define analytical and historiographical methods: we need to ask more, different questions.
Here are a couple of women composers whose names might have crossed your path:
Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) has long been known
as a mystic and author of theological works; in recent years much
more attention has been paid to her compositions as well.
Recordings of her music have become increasingly available in the
last few years, and she has captured the imagination of many
students of women in music as well as students of the middle
ages.
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847) was the sister of
the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn. The two put on concerts
together, and Fanny went through a mighty struggle in her life to
fight convention and her own family, both of which forbade her to
publish her music. Not long before her tragic early death, she
did break the conventional bonds and publish a number of works.
Want to know more? The course outline contains a list of topics and readings. The Syllabus contains policies for the course. The listening list has the contents of the course CDs, which are on reserve in the Library. This course is approved for Women's Studies credit, Writing Emphasis credit, and credit for the Humanities Area I general degree requirement (GDR).
Useful Links
University of Wisconsin System Women's Studies Librarian
International Alliance for Women in Music
Return to UWSP Music History home
Return to UWSP Music Department home
Return to UWSP home