Abstract

This presentation will introduce participants to systems analysis, which is used in many fields to promote systems thinking. It has been used in after-school arts programs to explore issues of social justice, particularly to examine how injustice is held in place and at which levels within a system actors can bring about social change. We will look at a case of the Boston Children’s Chorus and their systems analysis, and then open our discussion to consider issues of social justice in the participants’ local music programs.

Bio

Susan Wharton Conkling is Professor of Music, Music Education at Boston University. As a teacher and scholar, Conkling has led efforts to develop a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the field of music, beginning with a Carnegie Fellowship in 1999. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in choral conducting, methods, and curriculum, and she has designed and implemented courses to prepare DMA candidates for their roles in higher education. She is also well known for her efforts to create professional development partnerships between public schools and collegiate schools of music. Conkling has served the profession as a board member of the American Choral Directors Association, the College Music Society, the International Society for Music Education’s Commission on the Education of the Professional Musician, and she is the current chair of the Society for Music Teacher Education.