Naming Moral-Political Discourses in Music Education: A Philosophical Investigation

• In Event: Considering Music Teachers and Pedagogy

Abstract

The purpose of this philosophical inquiry is to investigate potential intersections between contemporary moral-political metaphors (Lakoff, 2016) and music education philosophies, particularly Allsup’s (2016) concepts of museums and laboratories. I demonstrate that Allsup’s concepts align with the liberal nurturant parent metaphor while directly contrasting the conservative strict parent metaphor. When conservative moral discourse goes unacknowledged, discussions about what kind of ethics should inform music education get misrecognized as arguments about whether or not ethical concerns should inform music education. In addition to naming the moral-political underpinnings of their practices, music educators might clarify how the nurturant parent moral-political metaphor could inform their work and consider how discourse and practices not central to either moral-political metaphor may benefit teachers and students.

Author

• Lauren Kapalka Richerme, Indiana University - Bloomington