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Newspapers database, the Library of Congress’s online resources, and other databases that will allow you to search historical documents, research the activities of a particular women’s club or orchestra.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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In the chapter of her book we are reading for today, Catherine Clément critiques the plots of operas that end in the heroine’s death. In other sections of her book, she shows other ways that things don’t seem to turn out well for female characters and demonstrates that operas can reinforce gender stereotypes in a number of different ways.
Search through the opera plots in the Metropolitan Opera’s plot summary database (see www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/history) or a similar site. Pick an opera or two from the nineteenth or early twentieth century. How are the female characters treated? Can you identify any strong female characters? Be prepared to BRIEFLY summarize the plot for the class. You should also try to find an audio or audio-visual example of a key scene for one of the female characters.
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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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Write a critical assessment of Marian Wilson Kimber’s article. What is her thesis statement, and what are the major points she makes? What kind of evidence does she use to back up her argument? Do you agree with her conclusions?
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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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As Jennifer Post points out in her article, “Erasing the Boundaries between Public and Private in Women’s Performance Traditions,” historically, cultures have tended to separated music making into “men’s” and “women’s” spheres. Summarize how these two spheres differ–what associations do we have with each? How are they oppositional, and how do they overlap?
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To earn this credit, give a brief (3-5 minute) lecture/presentation to the class about some aspect of nun’s lives in Europe in the 16th or 17th century. Alternatively, you could present on the life or music of a specific nun or group of nuns.
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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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In the packet of lyrics posted on Blackboard, you’ll find a selection of medieval lyrics. Some have been attributed to women, some to men, and some are anonymous, but I have blacked out all of this information. Looking only at the lyrics (and their English translations, of course), do you think it is possible to determine the gender of the author? Select the lyric you think is most likely to be by a woman and the one you think is most likely to be by a man, and write a description of each. Point out any words, phrases, or grammatical features that you think could possibly indicate the author’s gender. The articles listed under the reading for today describe what historians look for, and will give you some ideas.
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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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