“To Disturb the Universe?” On the Ethical Implications of Educational Resistance

Recent music education research has consistently highlighted the complex ‘dark times’ currently faced by many music teachers, felt particularly keenly in contexts where there seems to have been an erosion of education’s capacity to nurture more inclusive, diverse, and democratic practices. Academics have therefore consistently called for music teachers to seek a more venturesome vision for music education, one that critically engages with current socio-political practices and so might enact a certain pedagogical resistance. This paper seeks to present a philosophical interrogation of the ethics of endorsing such resistant pedagogical practices, where a broad desire to enrich music education might stand at odds with contextual norms and so potentially deny music teachers’ capacity to function well within these settings. Through applying a Žižekian conceptualization of subjectivity where individual aspirations are fundamentally rooted in contextual discourses, I draw on a personal anecdote and three literary sources to critically examine the complex implications and issues associated with societal resistance. Conclusions explore the potential necessity to accommodate both social assimilation and resistance, whilst theorizing the importance of visceral educational antagonisms for revealing subjectivity itself and how this might subsequently enable key moment of autonomous critical action. These arguments are then placed in the context of other contemporary philosophical research in music education to highlight how this theory might present an empowering alternative perspective on music teachers’ capacity to develop new educational practices.