OpenEd20

Traditional music appreciation curricula outline the development of Western classical music. Such curricula focus on the canon of composers—mostly white, male, and European—whose work is heard in concert halls and opera houses. Some recent textbooks have made an effort to include popular styles and non-white musicians and composers, but without undermining the Eurocentric narrative or critiquing the focus on concert music. In 2018, instructors at the University of North Georgia began the process of redesigning the music appreciation curriculum to encompass a truly diverse set of works, artists, and practices. We abandoned the chronological approach and organized the curriculum around a series of themes. Our work culminated in the creation of an OER textbook that was published by the University of North Georgia Press. Although it was published in May 2020, the textbook—which comes with a full set of pedagogical materials—has already been adopted by programs around the country and has elicited strong positive commentary.

In this session, we will share the process by which the text was collaboratively developed and we will provide an overview of the contents. We will discuss the difficulties and triumphs involved in organizing a diverse group of co-authors. We will share testimonials from students and instructors about how this new curriculum has positively impacted their experience in the classroom. Then, we will lead session participants in identifying general-education classes at their own institutions that could benefit from a similar approach. Participants will leave with an understanding of how this process empowers instructors to shape a curriculum and boosts student success by providing them with zero-cost materials tailored to the course, and how a similar process can facilitate progress toward decolonization of Eurocentric curricula. Participants will additionally leave with an articulated plan for implementing or advocating for a similar process at their own institution.

Learning Outcomes:
Session participants will:

1. Learn how to manage the process of authoring a textbook in collaboration with a diverse group of instructors
2. Investigate how collaboration can help instructors to reenvision curriculum
3. Discuss the advantages of adopting an OER textbook
4. Examine the advantages of writing an OER text instead of simply adopting
5. Identify courses at home institutions that could benefit from the collaborative production of an OER text