Some Thoughts about Teaching Music History: A Conversation with Douglass Seaton

  • Timothy D. Watkins Texas Christian University
Keywords: Douglass Seaton, Pedagogy, Interview

Abstract

Douglass Seaton has become an influential figure in music history pedagogy for numerous reasons. Now the Warren D. Allen Professor of Music at The Florida State University (FSU), Seaton has taught music history and musicology to approximately 5,500 undergraduate and graduate students at FSU, which has recognized the excellence of his pedagogy with two teaching awards. He has written and spoken extensively about music history pedagogy in articles, conference presentations, and panel discussions at scholarly meetings, and his music history textbook, Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition, now in its third edition, is used in numerous colleges and universities. This article consists of an introduction to Seaton’s own teaching, followed by the transcript of an interview with him on the subject.

Author Biography

Timothy D. Watkins, Texas Christian University

Timothy D. Watkins is Assistant Professor of Musicology at Texas Christian University. His research includes topics in Renaissance and Baroque music as well as the music of Latin America, centering on the musical consequences of the encounter between European and indigenous cultures in the Americas. His articles and reviews have appeared in Ars LYRICA, The Journal of Musicological Research, The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, The Garland Handbook of Latin American Music, and elsewhere. His book, Performance Practice: Issues and Approaches, is published by Steglein.

Published
2013-10-01