Issues of bodily and psychological difference, often identified as disability, affect teaching and learning in many ways—challenges faced by disabled students or disabled instructors; issues around disability as a subject matter. The proposed project focuses on making learning accessible to as broad a range of students as possible. 

The field of disability studies, including disability pedagogy, has flourished in recent years, but many faculty in our Music department—and throughout higher education—remain uninformed about concepts and practices related to psychological and bodily differences among our students. The goal of this project is to develop, during summer 2024, materials to increase awareness of inclusive pedagogy among music faculty generally.

Fred Maus, a music instructor, has engaged disability through research, teaching, and pedagogical practice over many years. Presently he teaches a recurring course on “Music in Relation to Sexuality and Disability.” Maus has ADHD and is especially interested in psychological difference in relation to pedagogy. Molly Joyce, a PhD student in music composition, has a physical disability and has oriented much of her compositional work around issues of bodily difference. She is well-read in disability studies.