We are advocates for equality in music education. We bring together music practitioners and local, national and international partners in conversations about social justice and the alleviation of inequality, powerlessness and discrimination.
We support the University of Southampton’s strategic vision for greater inclusiveness in our communities. We see equity and diversity as strengths.
Our centre is a main point of contact between the University and communities of musical practice. We connect with communities in our region, across the UK, and globally. We help these communities to explore the social justice aspects of music education.
We host regular events such as talks, interactive concerts and workshops. Through our events, we support innovative research on looking at music education. This research can take practical, pedagogical, therapeutic, theoretical and historical perspectives.
We recently held a roundtable event, in collaboration with the Southampton Institute for Arts and Humanities. At this event, we explored how the University might respond to the House of Commons report, Misogyny in Music. This report outlines some of the inequalities faced by women in the music industry. Read about our Misogyny in Music roundtable.
We also support postgraduate study on themes of social justice at postgraduate level. We work with other academic disciplines too.
The main aims and focuses of our centre are:
Our director, Dr Erin Johnson-Williams, is a music historian. Her research addresses decolonisation, the imperial legacies of music education and trauma studies. Other research interests include gender and maternity, hymns and race. She has also worked on exploring soundscapes of colonial violence. You can contact Erin at e.johnson-williams@soton.ac.uk
Our deputy director, Dr Chiying Lam works on music and inclusion, music education research methods and community music.
Together they lead a team of scholars, practitioners, composers and performers. The team is dedicated to the study of inequality in music education. They work to create more inclusive and fair access to music, for everyone.
We welcome PhD applications that consider topics on any element of Music Education and Social Justice.