TAWNYA SMITH
Tawnya Smith is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Boston University. She teaches graduate courses in research, curriculum, arts integration, and undergraduate courses in healthy classroom dynamics, and arts and the environment. She has published in the International Journal of Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Frontiers in Education, String Research Journal, Journal of Applied Arts and Health, Music Educators Journal, and Gender and Education. Her book chapters include The Oxford Handbook of Musical Performance; Trauma and Music Education; Art as Research, Key Issues in Arts Education; Queering Freedom: Music, Identity, and Spirituality; and Music, Wellbeing, and Spirituality. Tawnya is co-author of the book Performance Anxiety Strategies and co-editor of Narratives and Reflections in Music Education: Listening to Voices Seldom Heard. Her research focus includes arts integration, trauma and mental health, and ecojustice education. She currently serves as Senior Editor of the International Journal of Education & the Arts.
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Self-Expression, Healing, and Community Solidarity: Music Engagement in Times of Environmental Crisis
Music making can be a powerful means to connect individuals in community, yet the global community has entered an intensifying period of social and economic unrest caused by political extremism, the pandemic, extreme weather events, and environmental collapse. For music education to be valued in the times ahead, music making will need to serve an expressive, healing, and unifying role that directly contributes to creating a more sustainable culture. In this paper, I critique current music education practices through an ecofeminist perspective to identify those that do harm, and those that encourage self-expression, healing, and community-building for the collective good.