The Case for Performance Studies in Undergraduate Music History Teaching

Abstract

As a broadly defined scholarly (inter)discipline, performance studies draws on theater studies, anthropology, gender and queer studies, race studies, poststructuralism, and postcolonial theories. Although taught mostly at the graduate level, performance studies can offer undergraduates an inroad into critical thinking through the relatable and widely applicable lens of performance. In the following article, I argue for the inclusion of performance studies in Western art music history pedagogy, discussing my experience designing and leading an introductory performance studies course for music majors. I argue that integrating such a course into a music curriculum is beneficial for students with various music concentrations, and I also suggest strategies for incorporating main concepts and activities into more traditional music history courses. The vibrant and interdisciplinary field of performance studies is flexible in terms of content and may be easily tailored to fit the needs of music majors while expanding their intellectual horizons and developing their critical thinking skills.