Research Interests
Music Learning and Cognition; Musical Communities of Practice; Embodied Musical Knowledge; Music Transmission; Semiotics in Music; Music, Dance, and Meaning; Epistemology and Axiology in Music and Music Education; Multicultural Music Education; Traditional/Folk/Vernacular Musics; Diasporic Music Communities in the United States; Musics-Dances of Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Latin America; Comparative Children's Music across the World
Statement of Research
I have the privilege of living professionally in two mutually beneficial worlds—music education and ethnomusicology. As an undergraduate student, I began my studies as a typical vocal performance major until I took my first anthropology course. Once I began learning about various cultural practices different from my own, I wondered what captivating musical traditions might also exist. Thus began my excursion into ethnomusicology. What I found, and still do find, especially intriguing is how my musical learning journey was quite specific to me, my education, and my environment.
Upon completing two bachelor’s degrees in ethnomusicology and anthropology, this fascination led me to enroll in graduate studies in music education. While a music education graduate student, however, I became disenchanted with the standardized way in which music education seemed to be approached in the United States. The lack of creativity and time music teachers were allowed in their classrooms, the lack of flexibility government mandates gave to the music curriculum, and the lack of funding, support, and attention the arts received from our society left me bereft of the possibility for making an impact as a music educator in an authentic way. At this point, I wondered whether a focus on music learning and cognition through cross-cultural comparisons might yield fruit and with the support of my advisor in music education, Dr. Gregory DeNardo, shifted into the field of educational psychology under the guidance of an educational anthropologist and my later advisor, Dr. Jacquetta Hill. Perhaps understanding the music learning process in a culturally relevant way might better equip teachers in the trenches to do what they do best. It was during these studies that I realized the daily challenges teachers faced in trying to make real change and decided to advocate on their behalf and on behalf of students who deserved broader music learning experiences. (See: Corso, Dawn T., An Examination of the Ideas and Practices Regarding Multicultural Education of Elementary General Music Teachers in Champaign County, Illinois. Master’s thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1999) and Corso, Dawn T., “An Examination of the Ideas and Practices Regarding Multicultural Education of Elementary General Music Teachers,” Cultural Interpretation and Contemporary Music Education: The Bowling Green State University Symposium on Music Teaching and Research 4 (1999): 42-68.)
In my doctoral work, I realized what seemed to be missing from truly meaningful music learning experiences derived not merely from a lack of funding, time, attention, space, and attention to a world music pedagogy, although these components were critical, but meaning that must be created in the musical process itself. The participants, the purpose, the performative context, and the larger cultural context jointly create understanding, not just the sonic elements themselves. It is here I realized the difficulty in creating teaching methodologies; while Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, and other cognitive psychologists and educational theorists offer direction in understanding development and learning in a universal sense, the essence of music as a cultural practice (read: the essences of musics as cultural practices) is lost. This epiphany led me to tackle a non-school music-learning context and compare it to a more formalized setting within school to see how children might learn without the constraints of an institutional framework. (See: Corso, Dawn T., “Smooth as Butter”: Practices of Music Learning Amongst African- 2003 American Children, Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (2003) and Corso, Dawn T., “Music Learning in an African-American Girls’ Community of Practice: ‘Smooth as Butter,’” The International Journal of Learning 12, no. 9 (2006): 375-383.) I found an amazing learning and communication environment constructed completely by children allowing for all of them to be authentically engaged at their own comfort level that was also culturally relevant; it was quite the opposite from what I was experiencing at the time as an elementary general music teacher.
Since then, and because of this experience, I have moved between academia and PreK-12 teaching, as well as continuing my own development as a learner through performance, conducting, participation in culture-specific music and dance practices, and formal studies in educational policy. I have endeavored to teach music from a global perspective and journeyed into non-music subjects in order to have a broader view of both music as a field of study and the educational system of the United States. I have developed a PreK-12 music program at a Montessori school attempting to bridge ethnomusicology in general music with traditional school choir, band, and orchestra endeavors. Most recently, I have returned to teaching music at the university level using the lens of ethnomusicology, which I very much enjoy and find familiar. I am especially attracted to teaching students who might not have formalized music training, as they are often more open and willing to learn music in a variety of ways, but also challenging music students to think in ways unaccustomed and perhaps uncomfortable to them.
This leads me to my current curiosity as to whether applications of best practices in music education can be used in the field of ethnomusicology and vice-versa. Current trends in ethnomusicology include devotees of a world music pedagogy matching the ongoing curiosity of music educators to broaden the experiences offered to PreK-12 students. What I see somewhat lacking is a deep understanding of music learning and cognition that simultaneously preserves the rich, culturally-specific meaning of music-dance practices; great efforts certainly exist, but more work in the field is needed. (See: Corso, Dawn T., “Legitimizing Culture-Specific Learner Practices in Music Education Contexts,” SEM Student News 11, Fall/Winter (2015): 11-12.) Many questions fuel my inquiry. How can music educators include important issues related to meaning, identity, and purpose to the historic, geographic, and political descriptions of a musical practice? Is there a way in which semiotic analysis might be useful in understanding music, not only in a practice-specific, but also in a universal way, and could this be helpful in music education? What are the specific learning contexts of varied cultural music practices, and how can those be applied in music classrooms? What are best practices of teaching in the field of ethnomusicology, and can tried-and-true methodologies in music education have applications there? Perhaps most importantly, how can any of this knowledge be actualized in a classroom and how might educational institutions be made aware of its importance? It is in this vein that I move forward in research.
Publications
Books, Monographs, & Chapters
Ward, R. A. (2007). Literature-based activities for integrating mathematics with other content areas, grades K-2. Allyn & Bacon/Longman. (Ghostwriter for social studies activities)
Ward, R. A. (2007). Literature-based activities for integrating mathematics with other content areas, grades 3-5. Allyn & Bacon/Longman. (Ghostwriter for social studies activities)
Ward, R. A. (2007). Literature-based activities for integrating mathematics with other content areas, grades 6-8. Allyn & Bacon/Longman. (Ghostwriter for social studies activities)
Articles & Proceedings
Corso, D. T. (2015, Fall/Winter). Legitimizing culture-specific learner practices in music education contexts. SEM Student News, 11, 11-12. http://www.ethnomusicology.org/resource/group/dc75b7e7-47d7-4d59-a660-19c3e0f7c83e/publications/SEMSN11.pdf
Corso, D. T. (2006, Winter). Notable trade book lesson: Be My Neighbor. Social Studies Research and Practice, 1(3), 425-435. http://www.socstrpr.org/files/Vol%201/Issue%203%20-%20Winter,%202006/Practice/1.3.11.pdf
Corso, D. T. (2006, September 08). Music learning in an African-American girls’ community of practice: “Smooth as Butter”. The International Journal of Learning, 12(9), 375-384. https://doi.org/10.18848/1447-9494/CGP/v12i09/48085
Corso, D. T. (2000). An examination of the ideas and practices regarding multicultural education of elementary general music teachers. Bowling Green State University Cultural Interpretation and Contemporary Music Education: The Bowling Green State University Symposium on Music Teaching and Research, Mooreland Arts Center, College of Music Arts, September 24-25, 1999, 4, 42-68. Bowling Green State University.
Dictionary & Encyclopedia Entries
Corso, D. T. (2019). Children's music. In J. L. Sturman (Ed.), The SAGE international encyclopedia of music and culture (Vol. 2, pp. 501-504). Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483317731.n153
Corso, D. T. (2019). Opera. In J. L. Sturman (Ed.), The SAGE international encyclopedia of music and culture (Vol. 4, pp. 1618-1622). Sage Publications. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483317731.n533
Columns, Editorials, Abstracts, & Reviews
Corso, D. T. (2018). [Unpublished review of the book Becoming an Irish traditional musician: Learning and embodying musical culture, by J. Cawley (2020)]. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003083344
Corso, D. T. (2001, Fall). Another response to Carolyn Livingston’s “Naming country music: An historian looks at meanings behind the labels.” Philosophy of Music Education Review, 9(2), 43-44. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40327164
Corso, D. T. (2000). The ideas and practices of elementary general music teachers regarding multicultural education [Abstract]. Illinois Music Educator, 60(3), 71.
Dissertation & Thesis
Corso, D. T. (2003). “Smooth as butter”: Practices of music learning amongst African-American children [Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. University of Arizona (UA) Campus Repository. https://hdl.handle.net/10150/631663
Corso, D. T. (2003). “Smooth as butter”: Practices of music learning amongst African-American children (Order No. 3115152, Dissertation No. 305329932) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global.
Corso, D. T. (2003). “Smooth as butter”: Practices of music learning amongst African-American children [Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS). https://hdl.handle.net/2142/87848
Corso, D. T. (1999). An examination of the ideas and practices regarding multicultural education of elementary general music teachers in Champaign County, Illinois [Master’s thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. University of Arizona (UA) Campus Repository. https://hdl.handle.net/10150/631662
Corso, D. T. (1999). An examination of the ideas and practices regarding multicultural education of elementary general music teachers in Champaign County, Illinois [Master’s thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]. Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS). https://hdl.handle.net/2142/103153
Unpublished Works
Corso, D. T., & Harte, C. (2021). Learning Irish music through playing and dancing: Jig, reel, and hornpipe [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2020). Book Review: Tracing the mbira sound archive in Zimbabwe by Luis Gimenez Amoros [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2020). Continuity and change: Pedagogical contexts and practices of Shona mbira dza Vadzimu [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2020). Music education without borders: Creating communitas in instrumental ensembles through participatory musicking [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2019). Becoming voices: American university students as liminal culture bearers and transformers of Irish traditional music [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2019). Orthodoxy and pragmatism in world music ensemble pedagogy [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2019). Re-inventing tradition? Teaching and learning Irish traditional music in higher education [Unpublished manuscript]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2019). Remote learning contexts: A preliminary study of the processes and challenges related to studying and making Irish traditional music outside Ireland [Unpublished manuscript]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2019). Teaching companion to the Oxford handbook of musical cultures (2013) [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2018). Considering and reconsidering: Music teachers’ attitudes and applications of multicultural education in the United States across two decades [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.
Corso, D. T. (2017). Legitimacy in learning: Lessons from the world [Manuscript in preparation]. Fred Fox School of Music, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona.