How SMT Could Become More Welcoming

Abstract

Continuing Stephen Lett’s (2023) argument that pedagogy was undervalued by SMT at its inception, this essay considers the signs and implications of continued marginalization of teaching. While position statements can influence the atmosphere of a society, they are peripheral to its operations, which determine who is included or excluded. SMT could help expand the pipeline for women and minoritized groups and identities by formulating and reinforcing ethical guidelines, not just at SMT events but in the music theory profession as a whole. A set of questions is provided for assessing the potential for harmful behaviors in institutional gatekeeping, from teaching to graduate admissions and programs, faculty searches, and tenure and promotion. Deeper engagement by SMT and its membership—through the formation of guidelines for searches and tenure processes, the formation of an ethics committee tasked with review and adjudication, and mentorship for job candidates and junior faculty—should help to broaden the demographics.