Beyond Western Shores: A Dialogue

Integrating musical and sonic forms materials from world music into theory classes steeped in Western concepts raises challenging questions pedagogical conundrums: How might instructors engender interest students with no training or background non-Western materials? Could (NWM) stimulate deeper thinking understanding about the broader contexts of production, such as its culture, religion, politics, history, well indigenous terms concepts? To what extent should critical contextual consideration be given prior to study sounds, musics, performances? alike engage NWM without extending troubling histories colonialism, western hegemony, privileged, white perspectives? address these other multiple viewpoints, this article takes form a dialogue between two professors, latter representing disciplines ethnomusicology. As four interlocutors explore above, they also consider revise "Pin Drop" assignment, which culture found at various locations selected around globe. Rather than offer any final conclusions, itself demonstrates how productive tensions that arise when studying teaching classrooms, examined disciplinary angles, can mutually beneficial enriching, making possible new insights, methodological syntheses, priorities.