Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Honors Thesis (Open Access)

Department

Colby College. Anthropology Dept.

Advisor(s)

Joshua Rubin

Second Advisor

Winifred Tate

Abstract

This thesis examines how Western music theory pedagogy—long organized around tonal and twelve-tone equal-temperament frameworks—structures both what is taught and how students are trained to listen. Through a literature review tracing the historical construction of tonal universality in undergraduate curricula, the project argues that dominant models of music theory reproduce broader epistemic hierarchies inherited from Western conservatory traditions. Situating these histories within my own experience as a student navigating institutional listening norms, the thesis combines critical self-reflection with ethnographic research conducted across five liberal arts institutions, including the CBB consortium and JanPlan research at Wesleyan University and Amherst College. Rather than proposing a singular model of decolonial reform, the research demonstrates that pedagogical transformation depends on the social, cultural, and structural conditions of each institution. Drawing together critical theory and comparative ethnographic observation, the project explores how the structural conditions of higher education both shape and constrain attempts to reimagine music theory pedagogy through decolonial frameworks. The tensions that emerge across institutional contexts reveal how musical knowledge is regulated and reproduced within the academy. In doing so, the project contributes to ongoing discussions surrounding equity, cultural representation, and the institutional shaping of musical knowledge.

Keywords

Decolonial pedagogy, institutional ecologies, tuned listening, epistemic authority, hegemonic hearer

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