Education, Music, and the Lives of Undergraduates : Collegiate A Cappella and the Pursuit of Happiness

The undergraduate years are a special time of life for many students. They are a time for study, yes, but also a time for making independent decisions over what to do beyond formal education. This book is based on a nine-year study of collegiate a cappella – a socio-musical practice that has exploded on college campuses since the 1990’s. A defining feature of collegiate a cappella is that it is a student-run leisure activity undertaken by undergraduate students at institutions both large and small, prestigious and lower-status. With rare exceptions, participants are not music majors yet many participants interviewed had previous musical experience both in and out of school settings. Motivations for staying musically involved varied considerably – from those who felt they could not imagine life without a musical outlet to those who joined on a whim. Collegiate a cappella is about much more than singing cover songs. It sustains multiple forms of inequality through its audition practices and its performative enactment of gender and heteronormativity. This book sheds light on how undergraduates conceptualize vocation and avocation within the context of formal education, holding implications for educators at all levels. Intro -- Contents -- Cover -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1 Staying Musically Active "I just can't ever imagine my life without music" -- 2 The Locus of Enjoyment "I like to be good, but not at the expense of happiness" -- 3 Gender and Sexuality in Collegiate A Cappella "A cappella goggles" -- 4 Sustaining Inequality through Singing "Your girlfriend will love us" -- 5 The Workings of Capital "If you are a legit institution, you probablyhave a cappella" -- 6 Agency and Amateurism "I feel like there's a stigma against anythingrecreational in music" "This book is based on a nine-year study of collegiate a cappella, a socio-musical practice that has exploded on college campuses since the 1990's. Collegiate a cappella is about much more than singing cover songs. It sustains multiple forms of inequality through its practices and performative enactment of gender and heteronormativity. This book sheds light on how undergraduates conceptualize vocation and avocation within the context of formal education, holding implications for educators at all levels"-- Provided by publisher 9781350169258.0002 9781350169258.0004 9781350169258.0005 9781350169258.0006 9781350169258.0007 9781350169258.ch-001 9781350169258.ch-002 9781350169258.ch-003 9781350169258.ch-004 9781350169258.ch-005 9781350169258.ch-006 9781350169258.ch-007 9781350169258.ch-008