To Örebro University

The research program Music, Power and Inequities (MPI) brings together scholars with a shared interest in power in musical practices and institutions at Örebro University. MPI was established on the recognition that music’s celebrated potential for cohesion is paralleled by musical practices and institutions that sustain exclusion and inequity.

There is, for instance, a long-established belief that music fosters cooperation and moral standards. The European Commission (2022) argues that music “has the power to bring positive changes in society”, yet research shows that unequal relations and forms of exclusion persist across musical contexts. Music spaces, from conservatories to recording studios, have been sites of sexual harassment and abuse, as demonstrated by the #metoo campaign (Bull et al. 2023); professional opportunities are shaped by prejudice (Ålander & Volgsten 2021); and music-making and consumption are divided by class, gender, and ethnicity (Angelo et al. 2019; Bull & Scharff 2021; Moberg 2019). In addition, music has been used by anti-democratic movements, to promote racist, xenophobic agendas (de Boise 2024).

In this paper, we present findings from a scoping review of contemporary research on power in musical practices and institutions, conducted within MPI. Through an examination of peer-reviewed articles addressing inequ(al)ities related to various aspects of music, we show that research on music and power places strong emphasis on gender, race, and social justice. While the concepts of power and inequality are frequently invoked, they are rarely defined. We outline three central lines of critique: (1) power is often addressed implicitly, without attention to the relational dynamics through which it operates; (2) inequality and inequity are commonly framed as issues of representation or attitudes, rather than as outcomes of unequal distribution of resources; and (3) barriers to analysing power are reinforced by epistemic inequalities within academic research itself. Together, these findings point to the need for more explicit, structural, and relational analyses of power in music research.

The research program Music, Power and Inequities (MPI) brings together scholars with a shared interest in power in musical practices and institutions at Örebro University. MPI was established on the recognition that music’s celebrated potential for cohesion is paralleled by musical practices and institutions that sustain exclusion and inequity.

There is, for instance, a long-established belief that music fosters cooperation and moral standards. The European Commission (2022) argues that music “has the power to bring positive changes in society”, yet research shows that unequal relations and forms of exclusion persist across musical contexts. Music spaces, from conservatories to recording studios, have been sites of sexual harassment and abuse, as demonstrated by the #metoo campaign (Bull et al. 2023); professional opportunities are shaped by prejudice (Ålander & Volgsten 2021); and music-making and consumption are divided by class, gender, and ethnicity (Angelo et al. 2019; Bull & Scharff 2021; Moberg 2019). In addition, music has been used by anti-democratic movements, to promote racist, xenophobic agendas (de Boise 2024).

In this paper, we present findings from a scoping review of contemporary research on power in musical practices and institutions, conducted within MPI. Through an examination of peer-reviewed articles addressing inequ(al)ities related to various aspects of music, we show that research on music and power places strong emphasis on gender, race, and social justice. While the concepts of power and inequality are frequently invoked, they are rarely defined. We outline three central lines of critique: (1) power is often addressed implicitly, without attention to the relational dynamics through which it operates; (2) inequality and inequity are commonly framed as issues of representation or attitudes, rather than as outcomes of unequal distribution of resources; and (3) barriers to analysing power are reinforced by epistemic inequalities within academic research itself. Together, these findings point to the need for more explicit, structural, and relational analyses of power in music research.

This paper examines the public debate on teacher education in Sweden over the past two decades and its impact on current reforms. Drawing on policy documents, media discussions, and scholarly perspectives, we show how teacher education has become the most frequently reformed part of higher education, shaped largely by political agendas and external voices rather than research-based knowledge. The debate often blames pedagogy for perceived failures, favors cognitive science and psychology over educational research, and downplays critical thinking and reflection. We conclude by highlighting concerns about this development, while pointing to how alternative paths for music teacher education may emerge through questioning and challenging neoliberal logics.

Musiklivet genomsyras av maktrelationer. Ojämlika villkor sätter gränser för människors deltagande och handlingsutrymme i allt från musikutbildning, musik­skapande och konsumtion av musik. 

I antologin görs nedslag i olika delar av musiklivet. Tio forskare och lärare från Sverige, Norge och Storbritannien bidrar med kritiska perspektiv på rela­tioner mellan musik och makt. Varje kapitel avslutas med ett antal frågor som ger vägledning för fortsatta diskussioner. 

Boken är skriven för studenter inom högre musikutbildning. Den riktar sig till blivande musiklärare, musiker, kompositörer eller musikproducenter, såväl som till dig som läser musikvetenskap eller musikpedagogik. Texterna utgör även relevant läsning för lärare inom högre musikutbildning. Antologin är angelägen läsning också för andra som arbetar inom kulturlivet och är intresserade av maktfrågor. 

Questioning the frameworks we live by requires analyzing and critiquing arguments – both our own and those of others – and a willingness to take action.

In this chapter, we highlight the significance of Bildung, critical thinking, and knowledge in shaping individuals as citizens of society. Our starting point is that Bildung is related to societal development and potential for change, making critical Bildung normative rather than value-neutral.

By examining the public debate on teacher education in the Swedish daily press over the past two decades, we explore the participating actors, the expressed opinions, and their implications. Our findings reveal the pervasive influence of neoliberal ideology, which contrasts solutions for a so-called crisis in teacher education with the “fluffy school of the 1990s.” We critically discuss the regulatory measures aimed at detailing teacher education content and equipping future teachers with practical tools and methodologies grounded in cognitive science, with the expectation that these measures will enable future teachers to handle ‘everything’ and ‘everyone’. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the consequences of these perspectives in relation to critical Bildung and power relations.

Akademiseringen spelar en central roll i professionaliseringen av skilda yrkesområden (Dellgran & Höjer 2017). Övergången från praktikbaserad till forskningsbaserad högskoleutbildning har uppmärksammats inom exempelvis vård, utbildning, socialt arbete och journalistik (Laiho 2010; Borg 2007; Soydan 2001; Bromley 2013), medan studier om akademisering av musikerutbildningar hittills har förbisetts (Georgii-Hemming et al. 2016; Nerland & Jensen 2014; Moberg 2018).  

Utbildningen av professionella, klassiska musiker vid högskolor och konservatorier i Europa har traditionellt vilat på konstnärligt hantverk och skapande samt föreställningen om konstens autonomi; med ett samhällsmandat förhållandevis fritt från relevanstänkande och instrumentell nytta. I spåren av Bolognadeklarationen 1999 följde ett politiskt projekt att etablera en forskningsbaserad musikerutbildning (Gies et al. 2019). Förväntningarna på utveckling av forskning inom ramen för en konstnärlig praktik skapade däremot kontroverser och motsättningar inom utbildning och profession. Parallellt har samhällets musikliv och marknad förändrats (Gaunt 2016). Musikeryrket erbjuder idag få chanser till fasta anställningar och klassiska musikers samhällsmandat är inte längre givet, men den högre utbildningens krav på anställningsbarhet finns kvar. En komplex väv av frågor uppstår: konstnärlig praktik kontra (vetenskaplig) forskning; samhällsrelevans kontra konstens autonomi.  

Utgångspunkten för detta papper är resultat från det RJ-finansierade projektet Discourses of Academization and the Music Profession (DAPHME, 2016–2020), vars övergripande syfte har varit att undersöka hur processer av akademisering påverkar musikerutbildningar i Europa. Empirin baseras på officiella dokument samt intervjuer med 36 institutionsledare och lärare i Sverige, Norge och Tyskland. För att analysera vilka föreställningar om musikeryrket, kompetens och forskning som förhandlas och omförhandlas, har vi kombinerat diskursanalys (Wodak & Meyer 2016) med professionsteorier. Analyserna har utförts mot bakgrund av olika traditioner, värderingar och institutioner för att på så sätt kunna jämföra motsättningar, likheter och skillnader på institutionell, nationell och internationell nivå. 

Pappret lyfter fram på tre viktiga resultat som rör utbildningens och forskningens funktion samt musikerns funktion i samhället. Hållningarna legitimeras genom instrumentell rationalisering kopplad till marknadens krav, snarare än till musiker som en profession med expertis, kunskaps- och samhällsmandat. Vad gäller forskning är skillnaderna mellan länderna stora. Konstnärlig forskning framställs som etablerat i Sverige, men det finns spänningar mellan olika idéer om vad som utgör valid kunskap, vilka bäst sammanfattas som ”förhandlad konsensus”. Häri ligger en diskursiv begränsning; det är inte längre politiskt korrekt att öppet kritisera förändringen. Sammanfattningsvis kan de övergripande resultaten beskrivas som en navigering mellan konstnärlig och vetenskaplig autonomi; mellan anpassning till högskolesystem och marknad.

Self-promotion and the role of ‘brand image’ have increased in importance within higher education. Drawing on multimodal material from websites, this paper deals with how institutions for higher music education discursively construct institutional personas. Higher music education represents a novel case that contributes to existing knowledge of how institutions represent themselves because it sits at a particular, unique juncture between perspectives on universities as places for education and places for training. By investigating representations – and the actors, beliefs and customs these include – our results shed light on institutional ideals concerning knowledge and education. In conclusion, the institutional personas are explained as dis/harmonic as fundamental contradictions with educational implications are revealed. 

Higher music education (HME) in Europe is multifaceted due to the great variety of legal frameworks, conservatory histories and practices. However, following the Bologna declaration in 1999, traditional conservatories are gradually transforming into research-based institutions, which means combining advanced performer training with artistic research. After a background on academisation in the higher education of classical, professional musicians, this article reports on a Swedish case study of meanings assigned to academisation in HME. Findings show that it is defined and justified as a quality development project, which requires adaptation and also gives opportunities for further development. Issues of agency in HME are discussed.