A post from Katherine

I teach a course in the GenEd Cluster Two curriculum called “Music in General Culture.” The term has always puzzled me. Particularly in the fine arts, culture pertains not only to what we might classify as more or less anthropological distinctions (Western vs. non-Western; Germanic vs. Scandinavian; sacred vs. secular; Catholic vs. Lutheran) but to perceived hierarchies as well (“art music” vs. popular music; highbrow, middlebrow, lowbrow). With so many dichotomies in play, what in the world—literally—constitutes general culture? I suppose I should embrace the ambiguity as a license to structure the course according to my own preferences—to teach X and not Y. And I do tailor the content to my own strengths and interests, as does every other instructor who leads a section of this course. Yet, as much as I cherish academic freedom, the burden of editing culture by inclusion/exclusion rests uneasily on my shoulders. I have only 16 weeks with these students, many of whom never have taken, and/or likely never will take, another music course. I am the “expert” here, and my decisions will shape impressionable minds’ ideas about “culture.” What makes the cut? Is it a greater disservice to my students to nix Beethoven or the Beatles? How to balance their likely interests with my own sense of responsibility as a historian? The answer changes every semester, and I doubt I will ever feel entirely satisfied.