Study Levels: Advanced undergraduate, Postgraduate
Faculty: Stephanie Probst
mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna
Music and Dis/Ability
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The human body is involved in all aspects of music making and listening, from dexterity and the expressive power of voice and gestures, to refined auditory capacities and decoding notation. All too often these faculties are evaluated against expectations derived from (fictitious) normative bodies. But what happens when we take seriously the diversity of individual bodies who interact with (normative) instruments and preset conceptions of music? Through select case studies, this course asks what musicians and pedagogues can learn from dis/ability studies and how we might make music more inclusive and accessible.
COURSE OUTCOMES
In this course, students will be encouraged to interrogate their own practice as musicians, listeners, teachers, and citizens. What assumptions and faculties do their (artistic, pedagogical, …) routines rely on? How might an awareness of these conditions affect the experience of music and the interaction with others? What happens when experimenting with or adapting other approaches?