ASU welcomes new prof who focuses on applying 'Critical Race Theory' to music

Arizona State University touted their hiring of a music professor who applies “critical race theory” to the discipline.

As detailed by ASU News, Joyce McCall will serve as an assistant professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre. The university outlet states that she is “one of the few scholars whose music education research focuses on race and racism through critical race theory and double consciousness theory, as well as culturally relevant pedagogy.”

[RELATED: University of Arizona linguist declares ‘words matter,’ then attacks ‘white evangelicals’]

“McCall’s research centers on how race, class and culture impact educational equity in music education,” the article continues. “She said she also examines how certain pedagogies such as culturally relevant teaching influence possibilities to engage minoritized racial populations in the music classroom and beyond.”

“This is my dream job in a sense, because this is an opportunity to do the work that I do and also be able to do it in a place that provides me with a space where I can thrive,” McCall told ASU News.

“Dr. McCall brings expertise and research interests that are critical to our path forward as a school focused on access, inclusion and excellence,” added school director Heather Landes. “We look forward to welcoming Dr. McCall, who earned her PhD in music education from ASU in 2015, back to our community as a faculty member.”

McCall is not the only academic at Arizona State University who views the world through a racial lens.

As Campus Reform reported in March, professor Asao Inoue — who teaches first-year writing courses — wrote a book alleging that grading students’ work based on quality is “White supremacy.”

[RELATED: ASU dean writes book alleging that grading students’ writing is ‘white supremacy’]

“While the qualities of student writing is still at the center of the classroom and feedback, it has no bearing on the course grade,” he wrote. “Why take our judgments of quality out of the tabulation of course grades and progress in a course? Because all grading and assessment exist within systems that uphold singular, dominant standards that are racist, and White supremacist when used uniformly.”

Meanwhile, a communications class at Arizona State University assigned students the task of consuming “anti-racism” lectures and podcasts.

[RELATED: ASU course teaches students to do ‘the inner work of anti-racism’]

One assignment reads: “For the next 7 days, you need to commit do [sic] at least one practice or idea around doing the inner work of anti-racism.”

Campus Reform reached out to Arizona State University for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft