Patriotism and Nationalism in Music Education

David G. Hebert, Alexandra Kertz-Welzel

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317083139
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Music

Music has long served as an emblem of national identity in educational systems throughout the world. Patriotic songs are commonly considered healthy and essential ingredients of the school curriculum, nurturing the respect, loyalty and 'good citizenship' of students. But to what extent have music educators critically examined the potential benefits and costs of nationalism? Globalization in the contemporary world has revolutionized the nature of international relationships, such that patriotism may merit rethinking as an objective for music education. The fields of 'peace studies' and 'education for international understanding' may better reflect current values shared by the profession, values that often conflict with the nationalistic impulse. This is the first book to introduce an international dialogue on this important theme; nations covered include Germany, the USA, South Africa, Australia, Finland, Taiwan, Singapore and Canada.

Chapter 1Patriotism and Music Education: An International Overview

David G. Hebert

DOI: 10.4324/9781315599731-2

Abstract

Philosophers have long questioned the practice of inculcating national identity in young children, yet throughout history and across diverse cultures patriotic education may be found, particularly within music classrooms. This is ironic, considering that the discourse of music education philosophy makes so little mention of patriotism as an objective for music instruction. Rather, the recent writings of leading music education philosophers Bennett Reimer, David Elliott, and Estelle Jorgensen have supported the notion that intercultural understanding may be among the many positive outcomes of music learning, and none appear to advocate the transmission of patriotism as an objective for music teachers.

While the current state of theory in our field may endorse a cosmopolitan perspective, in actual practice there are signs that the school music education of various nations continues to move in a curious direction. In the USA, for example, a renewed emphasis on patriotic music was actively promoted in school music classes during early stages of the “War on Terrorism” (2005–2007) through a massive campaign sponsored by the national music education organization in collaboration with the military, and chaired by former First Lady Laura Bush, entitled “National Anthem Project.” In Japan, due to several changes in legislation since 1999, hundreds of music teachers have been fined and even fired for failing to lead students in singing their national anthem with sufficient enthusiasm. What has caused these shifts in policy, and how may they affect music learning? What is to be made of this apparent gap between theory and practice, and what may be learned from other cases of patriotic music education, historically or geographically removed?

This chapter outlines contemporary practices and positions regarding the use of patriotic content in music education. Examples of national anthems within schools in the USA, Russia, Japan, and New Zealand will be used to illustrate the narrative. This chapter concludes by providing an overview of themes that encompass the remaining chapters.

Introduction

Teaching is typically regarded as a noble—even altruistic—profession, and the teaching of music seems especially to be widely recognized as an inherently positive undertaking. This is partly because musical activities enable the sharing of profound, even ineffable, experiences through an intensity of interpersonal cooperation rarely encountered in other domains. Creative music-making is often highly inclusive and empowering, enabling participants to take an active role in cherished traditions and rituals that affirm their shared values and beliefs regarding all that matters in the context of human life. Rarely acknowledged by educators, however, is the truism that music is also sometimes used for highly questionable purposes in education, including even as a tool for propaganda and other forms of ideological indoctrination (Perris, 1985).

Indeed, the power of music education has clearly been abused at various points in history—by militaristic, fundamentalist, and totalitarian regimes—yet such misuse remains unexamined within most contemporary music teacher education programs. The potential dangers associated with curricular models that fail to produce historical consciousness and critical thinking among music teachers have been identified by scholars (Bowman, 2005; Green, 2008). When prospective music teachers are trained to know “what works” without asking why, or are encouraged to unquestioningly reproduce educational traditions, a wide disjuncture between theory and practice can easily develop. The impetus for this book arises from the premise that many contemporary educational practices associated with patriotic music appear to exemplify this kind of problem.¹ Patriotic songs are commonly considered healthy and essential ingredients of school curricula, nurturing the respect, loyalty and “good citizenship” of children. But to what extent have music educators critically examined the potential benefits and costs of patriotism, and the role that music instruction may play in nationalistic indoctrination and the promotion of other political agendas?

_______________

¹ This chapter is partly based on the introduction to “Patriotism and Nationalism in the Music Curriculum: An International Panel,” which was presented at the Fifth Asia-Pacific Symposium on Music Education Research, Seattle, 2005. The educational use of patriotic songs had previously been discussed in journal articles that address related topics (Hebert, 2000; Ho and Law, 2004; Law and Ho, 2004; Southcott, 2003). However, this panel appears to have been the first research to directly examine patriotism in music education from an international perspective. Since the time of our conference panel and original book proposal submission, other music education scholars have “come out” to publicly express their concerns regarding this important topic and related issues (e.g. Abril, 2007; Bradley, 2009; Goble, 2010; Humphreys, 2006; Jorgensen, 2007; O'Flynn, 2007; Woodford, 2008).

In recent decades, scholars associated with peace studies and multicultural education have seen undeniable progress in their efforts to promote an appreciation for cultural diversity and global concerns in the school curricula of various nations. In the field of music education, recent scholarship has supported the notion that intercultural understanding may be among the many positive outcomes of music learning (Campbell, 2004; Hebert, 2010a), and there appear to be no notable scholars within this field who advocate the transmission of patriotism as a key objective for music education. But while the current state of theory may endorse a cosmopolitan perspective, in actual practice there are signs that the school music education of various nations has often shifted in a contrasting direction.

From 2005 through 2007, the national organization for school music teachers in the United States advocated an unprecedented emphasis on patriotic music, as it collaborated with the American military and various corporations during the Iraq War to launch the largest initiative in its 100-year history, The National Anthem Project.² This project was widely rejected by the academic community, and upon receiving a Senior Researcher Award from the organization, historian Jere Humphreys proclaimed in his acceptance speech that “the National Anthem Project sends questionable messages during this time of controversy during a foreign war and the reduction of civil liberties at home and abroad,” and warned against the “messages and images this campaign engenders” (Humphreys, 2006, p. 183). In her published critique of the National Anthem Project, Deborah Bradley also courageously questioned “where the lines blur between solidarity, nationalism, and fascistic forms of community within the potentially significant musical moments that NAP may also foster” (Bradley, 2009, p. 56); while J. Scott Goble similarly reached the conclusion that “Indeed, MENC leaders and some United States music educators presently appear to be in need of instruction on principles of democracy and the appropriate uses of music and music education in a democratic society” (Goble, 2010, pp. 116–17). However, within just a few years, the Executive Director of MENC—which had claimed to be “the world's largest arts education organization”—would resign, and even the name MENC was removed as the troubled organization was radically restructured.

_______________

² According to the original announcement on the organization's official website, “MENC is sponsoring The National Anthem Project to revive America's patriotism by educating Americans about the importance of The Star-Spangled Banner—both the flag and the song” (MENC, n.d.). In other words, the explicitly-stated purpose of this project was to promote patriotism among Americans, and it was implemented in the midst of a highly-controversial war. Over time, the explanation on the project's website was revised to suggest that its purpose was to promote music education through singing of the national anthem.

Joel Spring, a renowned historian of American education, largely credited the lingering influence of nineteenth-century Prussian intellectual Johann Fichte in his explanation of patriotic tendencies evident in the practices of contemporary American schools:

Fichte recommended teaching patriotic songs, national history, and literature to increase a sense of dedication and patriotism to the government. This combination of socialization and patriotic teachings, he argued, would produce a citizen more willing and able to participate in the army and, consequently, would reduce the cost of national defense (Spring, 2010, p. 9).

Although such tendencies tend to be comfortably acknowledged in relation to distant historical periods or the educational systems of other nations, it remains difficult for most citizens to recognize the very same processes at work in their own country, particularly during times of war. Rather, in the midst of its most pervasive influence one finds a natural impulse to flatly deny that propaganda is indeed propaganda.

In early twenty-first-century Japan, during the same period that the National Anthem Project was implemented in American schools, changes in legislation resulted in hundreds of teachers—mostly in music—being fined and even fired for not singing their national anthem, nor accompanying it on piano, nor requiring their students to sing it (Hebert, 2012). Particularly upon observing the effects of these policies in Japanese and American schools, it may be important for music teachers of various nationalities to recall that “The notion that patriotism would serve as an objective for music education is antithetical to contemporary music education philosophies. Rather, music classes exist for the development of musical skills and understandings” (Hebert, 2006, p. 25).

This chapter proceeds by introducing philosophical positions concerning the role of patriotism in education, and then moves to the examination of national anthems, which represent the most overt form of patriotic music education. This analysis will demonstrate that some recen...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures and Tables
• Notes on Contributors
• Foreword: On Patriotism and Education
• Introduction
• 1 Patriotism and Music Education: An International Overview
• 2 Lesson Learned? In Search of Patriotism and Nationalism in the German Music Education Curriculum
• 3 Nationalism and School Music in Australia
• 4 National Identity in the Taiwanese System of Music Education
• 5 A National Anthem: Patriotic Symbol or Democratic Action?
• 6 Nationalism and Patriotism: The Experience of an Indian Diaspora in South Africa
• 7 Soundscapes of a Nation(alism): Perspectives from Singapore
• 8 Conflicting Perspectives on Patriotism Within Music Education in the United States During Wartime
• 9 “We Stand on Guard for Thee”: National Identity in Canadian Music Education
• 10 Nationalism and Music Education: A Finnish Perspective
• 11 Conclusions and Recommendations
• Index