Hard bargaining on the hard drive: gender bias in the music technology classroom

Abstract

Drawing on empirical data, this paper examines gender issues around the use of digital technologies for music composition. Increased investment in digital music technologies in music classrooms in the United Kingdom has produced a situation whereby ‘composition’ has become synonymous with ‘music technology suite’. While this has generated much discussion around issues of pedagogy and educational outcomes, there has been less attention paid to the sociological aspects of this digital shift. Consequently, these discussions ignore the socially constructed nature of computers and computer use thereby overlooking the gendered implications of confining composition to digitally mediated processes. By drawing on perspectives from the sociology of science and technology studies (STS), I offer a critical exploration of the processes and practices within the music classroom as they contribute to the gendering of digital technologies, and their impact on pupils’ attitudes to composition.

Keywords:

• composition
• music technology
• STS
• gender
• music education