“Towards a Theory and Practice of Public Musicology”
Jason Hanley (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
For Zoom meeting links to individual presentations, please contact Sophie Benn.
Music Colloquia provide a weekly forum for presentation and discussion of recent research by distinguished visitors, CWRU faculty, and graduate students in musicology, historical performance practice, and music education.
All Colloquia begin at 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) and will be offered virtually through the Spring 2021 semester. Members of CWRU and the wider Cleveland community are heartily welcome, as are students and colleagues at other institutions.
ABOUT THE TALK:
This presentation draws on methods from my own work over the last fourteen years as an educator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as foundational concepts in disciplines including Public History, Applied Ethnomusicology, and Museum Studies. I propose that there are four key areas where public musicology must be different from work that is conceived of as academic musicology: Dialogue, Pedagogy & Presentation, Diversity, and Knowledge & Skills. Each of these areas addresses the core challenge of how a true “public musicology” needs to consider its audience – not as passive receptacles of knowledge – but as engaged participants whose personal experiences serve a vital role in the transfer of knowledge. As such, the word “public” is not a person or a location, but a method for using the traditional tools of the field to develop a new understanding of the experience of music, one that connects to people’s lives and is not obscure or esoteric, and is certainly not done.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
As Vice President of Education and Visitor Engagement, it is Jason Hanley’s responsibility to make sure that every guest who engages with the Rock Hall learns its history and leaves inspired. Jason works to develop the Museum’s award-winning programs at the preK-12, university, and adult learning levels. These programs take place both on-site and online, including the Rock Hall EDU educational platform. Jason helps plan and implement all of the Museum’s family events, community events and partnerships, and live concerts – including the summer concert series Rock Hall Live. He also oversees the museum’s daily operations and visitor experience in several related departments that include Visitor Services, Visitor Engagement, Security, Box Office, and AV Services. He is executive producer of the Museum’s Rock Hall Honors series and is often the face of the Rock Hall in interviews with artists, producers, and industry professionals.
Hanley holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Stony Brook University and has been with the Rock Hall since 2004. Before coming to the Rock Hall he worked in New York as a performing musician, songwriter, record label owner, scholar, and author - his book, Music Lab, We Rock!: A Fun Family Guide for Exploring Rock Music History, was released in 2014. Music has always been a central focus of his life, from seeing Elvis Presley when he was only five, performing live at CBGBs in the early 1990s, and his current work at the Rock Hall. Hanley has spent time at the lectern in several schools teaching classes in music history, electronic music, and popular music studies at Hofstra, Cleveland State, Case Western Reserve University, Cuyahoga Community College, and Stony Brook University.