Is classical music education a ‘conducive context’ for sexual harassment and misconduct?
In this talk I will ask whether and how classical music education constitutes a ‘conducive context’ for sexual harassment and misconduct. Liz Kelly has theorised a conducive context as a site where ‘institutionalised power and authority […] creates a sense of entitlement, to which there [is], limited external challenge’. She further argues that in ‘conducive contexts’, ‘institutionalised gendered power relations can also be identified […] where men’s status and authority, rather than inducing an ethic of care, can be used by abusive men to intimidate and silence’. Drawing on my own and others’ research into classical music’s institutions, cultures and education settings, I will explore the ways in which the ‘conducive context’ manifests in classical music education and outline challenges and ways forward for institutions in addressing this issue.
Dr Anna Bull is a Lecturer in Education and Social Justice at the University of York and a former professional pianist and cellist. Her book Class, Control, and Classical Music was published in 2019 with Oxford University Press and in 2020 was joint winner of the British Sociological Association Philip Abrams Award. She has recently edited a volume entitled Voices for Change in the Classical Music Profession: New Ideas for Tackling Inequalities and Exclusions which will be published in early 2023 with Oxford University Press. Recently, she has been working with music education charity Sound Connections on youth voice in classical music education, publishing a toolkit for teachers in 2022. Anna is also a co-founder and director of The 1752 Group, a research and campaigning organisation working to address staff sexual misconduct in higher education.
This seminar will be held over Zoom - to access, please click this link.