Portal
Dr. Paul Louth
Professor
Dana School of Music & University Theatre
Bliss Hall
phone: (330) 941-3636
Bio
Dr. J. Paul Louth is Associate Professor of Music Education in the Dana School of Music, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in music education foundations, methods, and research, supervises student teachers, and advises music education students. Dr. Louth earned two bachelors degrees, one in music performance and one in education, both from the University of Toronto. After a brief period working as a freelance trombonist and then teaching in high schools for several years, he went on to earn M.Mus. and Ph.D. degrees in music education from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University). Specializing in jazz, brass, and wind band pedagogy Louth has previously worked as an adjudicator for Music USA Festivals and Musicfest Canada. He is also an active composer and arranger, having written commissioned works for various school ensembles, some of which have been performed at the prestigious Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago. Since 2012, he has composed and premiered two major works for YSU jazz and concert bands as well.
Dr. Louth’s research interests focus on critical music pedagogy, philosophical issues in music education, music education technology, and the intersection of formal and informal music learning. He has presented his research at various national and international conferences, and he has published articles in: Philosophy of Music Education Review; Music Education Research; Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education; the International Journal of Community Music; and the British Journal of Music Education, as well as having contributed chapters to the Oxford Handbook of Social Justice in Music Education; and Personhood and Music Learning, one of a series of books published by the Canadian Music Educators’ Association. He has served on the editorial board of Contributions to Music Education, and has been an invited reviewer for Philosophy of Music Education Review and the Canadian Association of Music Libraries. He currently serves on the Research Committee of the Ohio Music Education Association and organizes the annual graduate research poster session, which takes place during the professional development conference each winter.
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2008
Ph D, Music Education
Western University
Dissertation/Thesis Title — "“Music, Metaphor, and Ideology: Toward a Critical Theory of Forms in Music Education” "
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2004
Other, Music Education
Western University
Dissertation/Thesis Title — "“Informal Jazz Education in Canada: A Qualitative Study of the Learning Histories of Four Jazz Artists” "
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1997
Other, Education
University of Toronto
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1995
Other, Jazz Trombone
University of Toronto
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1991
Other, Trombone
Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology
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2024
Youngstown State University
Distinguished Professor Award in Research
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2020
Youngstown State University
Sabbatical Leave Awarded
This sabbatical leave supported the research for my 2023 book, Unfreezing Music Education.
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2016
Youngstown State University
Research Professorship
This research professorship supported the fieldwork that led to a 2022 article publication.
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2024
"Digital Music and Critical Music Literacy"
J. Louth
Music Education Research, volume 26, issue 1, p. 37 - 46
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2023
"Unfreezing Music Education: Critical Formalism and Possibilities for Self-Reflexive Music Learning"
J. Louth
Routledge, p. 197 -
2023
"Music for All or Partisan Advocacy? Exploring Socialized Epistemologies"
J. Louth, L. Richerme
Philosophy of Music Education Review, volume 31, issue 2, p. 136-154
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2023
"Music Education and the Shrinking Public Space: Implications of Richard Sennett's Sociological Ideas for Music Education"
J. Louth
Visions of Music Education, volume 41, p. 46-59
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2022
"Televised Music Instruction"
J. Louth
Rowman & LIttlefield, p. 139-154 -
2022
"Student-Centered Teaching and the Large Ensemble: Educators' Perceptions and Concerns"
J. Louth
Contributions to Music Education, volume 47, p. 61-80
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2020
"Emphasis and Suggestion versus Musical Taxidermy: Neoliberal Contradictions, Music Education, and the Knowledge Economy"
J. Louth
Philosophy of Music Education Review, volume 28, issue 2, p. 88-107
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2018
"Music Education’s ‘Legitimation Crisis’ and its Relationship to One-dimensional Thinking"
J. Louth
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, volume 17, issue 1, p. 9-32
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2015
"Social Justice and Music Technology in Education"
J. Louth
Oxford University Press, p. 473-486 -
2014
"There’s Madness in Your Method: A Philosophical Exploration into the Thought of Paul Feyerabend and its Implications for Music Education"
J. Louth
British Journal of Music Education, volume 31, issue 1, p. 69-83
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2013
"Frozen Metaphors, Ideology, and the Language of Music Instruction"
J. Louth
Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, volume 12, issue 3, p. 65-91
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2013
"Review of 'Patriotism and Nationalism in Music Education,' edited by David Hebert and Andrea Kurtz-Welzel"
J. Louth
Canadian Association of Music Libraries Review, volume 41, p. 28-29
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2013
"Examining Instruction in MIDI-based Composition through a Critical Theory Lens"
J. Louth
Philosophy of Music Education Review, volume 21, issue 2, p. 136-155
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2012
"The Role of Critical Formalism in Music Education"
J. Louth
Philosophy of Music Education Review, volume 20, issue 2, p. 117-134
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2012
"Personal Knowledge, Personal Epistemology, and Informal Musical Learning"
J. Louth
CMEA/ACME Biennial Book Series, Research to Practice -
2012
"An Approach to Improvisation Pedagogy in Post-Secondary Jazz Programs based on Negative Dialectics"
J. Louth
Music Education Research, volume 14, issue 1, p. 9-24
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Unknown
Reviewer, Journal Article
International Journal of Music Education -
2021 - 2023
Chairperson
NAfME Special Research Interest Group - Philosophy -
2020 - present
Editor, Associate Editor
Philosophy of Music Education Review -
2016 - present
Program Organizer
Ohio Music Education Association Research Committee
