Category Archives: Research

These assignments can be completed to earn research credits.

Blueswomen: other views [research]

Hazel Carby’s essay, “‘It Jus’ Be’s Dat Way Sometime’: The Sexual Politics of Women’s Blues” has been influential on scholarship and criticism about black women in blues and jazz. It has also produced some dissenting responses from other feminist scholars. Find a scholarly book or article that responds to Carby. Provide a citation to this source, and briefly summarize the other viewpoint.

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Chorus girls [research]

Search through a historical publication (you can use a ProQuest historical newspapers database, the Library of Congress, fultonhistory.com, or another database with historical periodicals) for articles about chorus girls between about 1880 and 1930. I recommend the Police Gazette.

Post links/images/excerpts from some of your most interesting findings in the “Chorus Girls” thread on Blackboard. You should also comment on your own findings or those of your classmates–how are chorus girls usually characterized in newspaper and magazine reports?

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Women’s music clubs and orchestras [research]

Using the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database, the Library of Congress’s online resources, and other databases that will allow you to search historical documents, research the activities of a particular women’s club or orchestra. You could even head over to the Western Reserve Historical Society’s library and see if you can track down any Cleveland groups.

Post information, images, links, etc. in the “Clubs and Orchestras” thread on Blackboard.

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Women making music in 19th-century fiction [research]

The readings for today’s class illustrate how novels by authors like Jane Austen can provide evidence about women’s music making in the nineteenth century, particularly in domestic settings. Can you add to the list of examples? Search 19th-century works of fiction. Post your findings in the “Fiction” thread on Blackboard (a link to Google Books will work, or you can type in the excerpt), and include a few words about how your example compares to the ones in the readings.

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Virtuosa in 17th- and 18th-century Europe [research]

As opera became one of Europe’s most popular forms of entertainment in the 17th and 18th centuries, many women became singing stars. Using Oxfordmusiconline.com and other scholarly resources, find out about one of them.

Post about this performer in the “Opera singers” thread on Blackboard. Give us links to biographical information and, if possible, a recording of a piece of music she may have sung.

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Female musicians in Renaissance art [research]

We will be looking for examples of iconography showing women in music at the Cleveland Museum of Art today. However, the CMA’s collection does not have very many examples from the Renaissance period. Using ArtStor or a similar resource, find examples of artworks from the Renaissance that show women making or listening to music.

Post your painting in the “Paintings” thread on Blackboard, and be sure to include a brief description (Artist, year, and a description of what is depicted in the artwork).

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Search Hildegard’s writings [research]

The music library and KSL both have translations of Hildegard of Bingen’s writing and lyrics, and some are also available online (but make sure to use a reliable source)–she was very prolific! Find examples from her writings and lyrics that illustrate the Eve/Mary relationship described in Rebecca Garber’s article; alternatively, find lyrics that present another female model that Hildegard wanted her nuns to emulate or learn from.

Post the lyrics in the “Hildegard” thread on Blackboard, and be sure to include a brief description of the lyrics (where you found them/what they are from, and how they are relevant).

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Wikipedia improvement [research]

Women are currently underrepresented on Wikipedia. Expand or improve a Wikipedia article about a woman who works or has worked in the music industry (as a performer, composer, producer, critic, industry executive, etc.) You could also add a new article. Submit your article or proposed changes to me before you make them on Wikipedia.

Interview/oral history [research]

Interview a woman who works or has worked in the music industry (as a performer, composer, producer, critic, industry executive, etc.) Post your interview as an audio or video file on Blackboard, as a written transcript, or use the #mugn_wm hashtag on Twitter. In some cases, we may be able to set up in-class Skype interviews.