Resisting the "Us" Versus "Them" Dichotomy Through Music Education: The Imperative of Living in the "Anti-"

• In Event: Race, Racism, and Representation in Music Education

Abstract

Given the prevalence of hate in the current U.S. climate, I argue that there is an imperative for music educators to teach explicitly against oppression, alongside teaching for values that include love and community. This paper explores the political climate following the election of Donald Trump in the United States and examines music’s potential, given its inherent power to bring people together. I argue that music education provides an important opportunity to engage and resist oppression and teach for a different possible imaginary, drawing upon strategies including intentional musicking as a practice of community, facilitating critical conversations, careful musical analysis, songwriting as resistance, and the extension of these ideas into the broader community.

Author

• Juliet Hess, Michigan State University