Arts
Familial Support for Women Composers of the Romantic Era
Roman Harvey
In nineteenth-century Europe, patriarchy restricted nearly every aspect of women’s lives. Alongside familial pressures, societal expectations stifled women’s musical, and especially, compositional careers. Despite this, and thanks to the work of dedicated musicologists, the compositions of Clara Schumann née Weick, Fanny Hensel née Mendellsohn, and Louse Farrenc née Dumont are starting to become well-known names in music history. This research examines the effects of familial and spousal support on these composer’s careers and reveal that men who were willing to resist the social dynamics of the time had the ability to support the talented female family members. Although these women were part of the same stifling society that saw being a female musician as highly questionable, the varying levels of support that their families showed them undoubtedly affected their compositional careers. This project outlines the historical context of musical misogyny of the time, then examines the familial and spousal relationships that affected Schumann, Hensel, and Dumont’s lives and musical careers.
Mackenzie Presley
Baylor University
During the Early Bronze Age, approximately from 3000 to 2000 BCE, maritime trade connected the Cycladic Islands and Crete, which fostered a cross-cultural exchange that profoundly impacted the pottery of both regions. This paper examines Early Bronze Age ceramics from these islands to demonstrate how trade routes might have helped shaped their distinct artistic styles that share fundamental aesthetic characteristics. The method utilized to demonstrate this claim combines museum database research with firsthand artifact analysis. Additionally, this paper provides an accessible overview of Early Bronze Age pottery in the region, serving as a resource for scholars and those interested in the ancient world. Thus, helping fill the gap that separates scholars and casual readers. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how maritime trade shaped cross-cultural artistic exchange, which provides a baseline for future research to examine how trade influenced the wider Aegean world.
The Influence of Social Emotional Learning on Elementary Music Teachers’ Practices in Coastal Bend Schools
David Gonzalez
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Due to various factors, some school districts throughout the Coastal Bend region have begun eliminating elementary music instruction from schools. Contributing factors include student populations, funding, the closing and consolidation of schools, pressure on academic performance, and state-designed curricula. Because of reduced musical instruction in some Coastal Bend schools, this prompts the need to better understand the role of music education in the social emotional development of elementary students within the region. We investigated how elementary music teachers in one rural school district in the greater Coastal Bend region of Texas incorporated Social Emotional Learning (SEL) experiences into their classes and how they perceived the impact of music learning experiences on students’ social emotional development. We asked participants a series of open-ended questions during separate Zoom interviews. The open-ended nature of these questions allowed us to seek clarification and ask follow-up questions based on responses. This is an embedded single-case study of elementary music teachers of the Coastal Bend region of Texas to investigate a “contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-world context” (Yin, 2014). Participants will serve as a subunit within the study, while the pair of teachers will serve as the unit of study. The unit and subunits allow further examination of the teachers’ perspectives both collectively and individually. The proposed embedded single-case study can be used for teachers, principals, and educational leaders to address SEL within curricula, school programs, and other aspects of learning environments where SEL implementation can be promoted, fostered, facilitated, and implemented.