Women in Music (MUSI40028)

A study of the ways in which gender and sexual difference have been represented in the making and composing of art music. Beginning with medieval women, this subject explores the social and cultural context of women composers and performers from Hildegard to Clara Schumann and Ethel Smyth through to contemporary composers such as Kaija Saariaho, as well as ideas of the “angel in the house” and the New Woman. It problematises women’s bodies, women’s voices and women’s place in society, examining music by and about women as well as representations of women’s music in art, literature and film.