Teaching Philosophy as Practice
Rationale
Intercultural communication is, and has always been, an integral part of my life. Through music scholarship, teaching, and performance; ethnographic filmmaking; and writing I seek to re-present the music and culture of South Asia, in which I have been immersed for half my life, in a manner that is accessible to people of diverse backgrounds, generations, and abilities. I use my grounding in the music and culture of India as a foundation on which to lead students and community members in the exploration of the rich diversity of music and dance in the world, thus raising people’s awareness and, ultimately, their respect for different types of this ultimate human expression.
Through writing and teaching I attempt to provide a platform, or framework for voices from the musical community I work with and other musical communities in the world. In my filmmaking, my goal is to create an alternative text in which the scholarly and artistic overlap, to create an accurate representation, accessible to a wider audience, of the vibrancy and struggle in some of these people’s lives. In both written and documentary film texts, I examine the active, critical, and artistic input of the musicians and dancers in India with whom I work. By sharing these ‘texts’ with students and audiences in the community, I seek to raise awareness of and concern for issues related not only to musical sound, structure, and form, but also the meaning of music and dance in people’s lives and how the performing arts relate to essential human rights.
Through performance and ensemble directing, I seek to transmit to students a sense of devotion to Hindustani music as a sublime art form. Through practicing this music and participating in its culture in diaspora, they will improve their analytical, problem-solving, critical thinking, and communication skills, as well as broaden their conception of sound and culture.
As an advocate scholar, I acknowledge in my performance the invaluable contributions of socially marginalized musicians and dancers. Making students aware of inequality and injustice such as this will further increase their concern for those less fortunate than themselves.
In short, my role is that of cultural mediator between music makers of diverse communities, academia, and the public sector. In other words, I advocate an interdisciplinary approach to the study of musics around the world (and my own specialty, musics of South Asia) as a study of expressive cultures. I aspire to create and live in spaces where the performing and visual/media arts, knowledge, and human rights weave together as narrative threads of the same story, inspiring compassion, understanding, and, ultimately, positive change.
Overview of Experience.
I have had the privilege of teaching students of all ages and backgrounds in highly diverse contexts. This began while I was a student of Hindustani music in Santiniketan, India. I volunteered to tutor members of the Santhal tribe living in a village nearby in basic literacy and phonics so that they could read the Bible in their own language transliterated into Roman script. Subsequently, while living in Albuquerque, NM, prior to beginning my study of ethnomusicology, I taught courses including basic adult literacy, English as a Second Language, and U.S. citizenship for amnesty legalization in settings such as a local community college, University of New Mexico’s rural branch, and a social service agency’s refugee resettlement project site. Adult Education necessitated not only compassionate listening but also considerable proactive counseling about various issues, such as immigration rights and laws, life skills in an American community, and rights of family members.
As a music educator, I continue to strive to provide ample opportunities in class and other learning contexts for relevant discussion and questions about the topic under study (and related topics), working to clarify issues and expectations pertaining to class material and students’ responsibilities. I offer constructive criticism that will motivate the student to do better, at the same time making concrete suggestions about ways to do so. I encourage students in a classroom environment to investigate rigorously and express themselves articulately about various topics by assigning research papers, essays, group projects, and in-class presentations. I bring live musicians into classes as much as possible to present lecture-demonstrations in order to give students exposure to music-making in the community. I also show videos of various music cultures, including those I have made myself. In the studio learning or ensemble environment, I strive to motivate students and nurture students’ confidence and creativity through performance by finding and/or creating situations for students to make music together in public contexts. In sum, as an educator, scholar, and artist, I seek to create and inhabit spaces where learning, the arts, and human rights weave together as narrative threads of the same story.
I have taught sitar and Hindustani voice lessons to students of all ages and presented workshops in numerous settings, including senior citizens centers, Elder Hostel public schools, a Native American reservation, universities, and community groups. I have led as well as participated in community ensembles of traditional Indian and world fusion music and directed the University of Alberta Indian music ensemble. Finally, I have taught survey courses in world music and ethnomusicology at the Universities of Texas, Alberta, and Pittsburgh, as well as small seminar-style courses on my specialization, the music of South Asia and gender and music at the University of Pittsburgh.
As an independent contractor under the banner of Sangeet Millennium in Austin, I continue to arrange and teach lessons, workshops, and residencies on the traditional music and dance of India in Austin, TX, in which I collaborate with guest artists, including maestros from India. In addition, I use screenings of my ethnographic documentary films in various contexts as opportunities to raise awareness about the communities I re-present and advocate for.