The Harmonious Classroom: Teaching Political Theory with Period Music

• In Event: Build Back Better: Innovative Ideas in Political Science Education

Abstract

The study of political theory is particularly well suited to pedagogical practices that involve music. Several canonical figures were themselves composers and instrumentalists who cared deeply about their musical commitments. For a notable few, including Plato, Aristotle, and Rousseau, music arguably constitutes an indispensable feature of their respective ideas about politics and the social order. Yet even when music is less central to a thinker’s written work, it remains a useful tool for illustrating historical context and providing a richer understanding of shifting cultural currents. Music can be used to introduce a thinker, a subject, or historical period; to break up class time into more manageable segments or to transition between activities in a flipped classroom; it can be assigned as a primary source alongside other readings; and it can be worked into classroom assignments, including independent research projects. Live performance, moreover, provides additional opportunities for active learning. This paper begins by examining three accounts of using music to teach politics and political theory, weighing the benefits and challenges of using music as a pedagogical tool. While the scholarship on using music in the classroom has centered on the lyrics of contemporary popular music, I prioritize the use of what I call ‘period music,’ which includes music of any genre composed and performed by canonical thinkers themselves or by others during their lifetime. While contemporary popular music may be used effectively in many contexts, it is possible to establish connections with period music beyond lyrical analysis. For this and other reasons to be explored, period music more easily overcomes the potential pitfalls of using music in the classroom. Music, I argue, can serve two overarching pedagogical objectives: conceptual clarification and contextual elucidation. To aid in the selection of music that achieves these goals for any thinker, I have developed a rubric that classifies a range of possible musical connections one might discover. A judicious selection of musical texts assigned or otherwise integrated into course content has the potential to deepen and enrich our students’ knowledge of political theory. To illustrate this, I outline three brief examples of the kind of work one must do to establish meaningful musical connections among thinkers with different levels of connection to music: Rousseau (strong), Machiavelli (moderate), and Hobbes (weak). As I show, it is possible to find a selection of music in each case that complements their political writings either conceptually or contextually.

Author

• Kristofer Jens Petersen-Overton, Babson College