Higher Music Education and Employability in a Neoliberal World - by Rainer Prokop & Rosa Reitsamer (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This open access book offers international and interdisciplinary insights into the learning cultures, curricula designs and emancipatory initiatives within higher music education institutions. Drawing together empirical case studies from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, the UK and the USA, the contributors look at the discourses surrounding employability and artistic standards that form the traditional foundation of conservatoire education. They also examine how gender, class and race/ethnicity pervade the creation and performance of music. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna"--

Book Synopsis

This open access edited collection shows how neoliberalism continues to shape higher music education institutions, curricula design and learning cultures, as well as the various ways of transitioning from education to work and the world of uncertainty and job insecurity currently being experienced by a younger generation of musicians. The book brings together empirical studies, activist voices, theoretical reflections and autoethnographic studies from a broad range of disciplines, work contexts and geographical regions. These contributions examine how race/ethnicity, gender and class pervade the creation, performance and teaching of music and create the context for the reproduction of social inequalities. They also illuminate the notions of employability, entrepreneurialism and meritocracy that underpin higher music education and the music labour markets in Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, Hungary, Finland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and China, and provide insights into the strategies used by musicians to manage their precarious working lives. Finally, this collection specifically highlights alternative pedagogical approaches and activist tactics for moving forward in the era of Black Lives Matter, #StopAsianHate and #MeToo.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Review Quotes

"For readers who care about the ways in which neoliberalism undermines peoples' creative justice in and through higher music education ethically and practically, this volume remains a critical acquisition." --Antonio C. Cuyler, Professor of Music in Entrepreneurship and Leadership, University of Michigan, USA

"A crucially important volume, the book provides critical insights into both the learning cultures within higher music institutions and the transition from education to work in a neoliberal world. As such, this brilliant volume makes a vital contribution to how we think about the interplay between higher music education, inequalities, and neoliberalism." --Christina Scharff, Reader in Gender, Media and Culture, King's College London, UK

"An important volume for both higher music education and musicians. Properly considered and implemented, its contents could shape the future of both." --Dawn Bennett, Assistant Provost and Director, Transformation CoLab, Bond University, Australia

"This book provides an important and timely examination of higher music education in the 21st century. Through focusing on the role that institutions play to both empower students and perpetuate inequalities, the contributing authors explore the possibilities and perils of higher music education in a culture dominated by neoliberalism." --Bryan Powell, Associate Professor of Music Education and Music Technology, Montclair State University, USA

About the Author

Rainer Prokop is a sociologist and Senior Scientist at the Department of Music Sociology at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria. His research focuses on music labour markets, career trajectories of musicians, study-to-work transitions of classically trained musicians, the sociology of higher music education and valuation practices at higher music education institutions.

Rosa Reitsamer is a sociologist and Professor at the Department of Music Sociology at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria. Her research interests include the sociology of higher music education and music labour markets, valuation practices at higher music education institutions and intersectional perspectives on music, gender and social inequalities. In 2022, she received the Gabriele Possanner Austrian State Award for Gender Studies.