The Online Challenge: Why Not Teach Music History Unconventionally?

  • Jocelyn R. Neal UNC Chapel Hill
Keywords: online pedagogy

Abstract

As the proliferation of online courses reaches into the fields of music history and music theory, more colleagues are contemplating the efficacy and desirability of getting involved, while some institutions are pushing faculty into the new medium of instruction. This essay explores one such instance of online instruction by first outlining the format and implementation system at a major state university, then reflecting on both the positive and negative experiences encountered by the instructor, who has taught online music history and music fundamentals courses for the past seven years. 

Author Biography

Jocelyn R. Neal, UNC Chapel Hill
Jocelyn Neal is Associate Professor and Adjunct Associate Professor American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she teaches music theory, analysis, and popular music courses. She is the author of The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Legacy in Country Music (Indiana University Press) and co-author of a revised edition of Country Music U.S.A. (University of Texas Press). Her articles and reviews have appeared in several journals including Music Theory Spectrum, Journal for the Society of American Music, and Musical Quarterly, and she is currently co-editor of Southern Cultures.
Published
2011-07-26
Issue
Vol 2 No 1: (Fall 2011)
Section
Roundtable

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).