Carol J. Oja
Encyclopedia
Carol J. Oja is a musicologist and scholar of American Studies
. Since 2003, she has held the post of William Powell Mason Professor at Harvard University
. Her previous appointments have been at the College of William and Mary
(1997–2003) and the City University of New York
(1988–97), where she was professor of music at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, as well as director of the Institute for Studies in American Music (1993–97). She attended St. Olaf College
(B.A.), the University of Iowa
(M.A.), and the Graduate School of the City University of New York
(Ph.D.).
Her main fields of study include 20th-century American modernism
, musical theater, and cross-cultural composition, and her work positions composers and their music within broad historical contexts. She often explores sites of musical intersection and hybridity, whether having to do with race, genre, cultural hierarchy, or geographic origin, and she probes institutional frameworks for music-making, as well as patronage (especially by women). The composers she has written about include Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, George Gershwin, Colin McPhee, Ruth Crawford Seeger, William Grant Still, and Virgil Thomson. Her principal books include:
Copland and his World, edited with Judith Tick (2005)
Making Music Modern: New York in the 1920s (2000)
Colin McPhee: Composer in Two Worlds (1990)
A Celebration of American Music: Words and Music in Honor of H. Wiley Hitchcock, edited with Richard Crawford and R. Allen Lott (1990)
American Music Recordings: A Discography of 20th Century U.S. Composers (1982)
Stravinsky in "Modern Music" (1924–1946) (1982)
She is currently at work on a book titled, Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War. She has won the Lowens Book Award from the Society for American Music, three separate ASCAP-Deems Taylor Book Awards, and an award for “Best Reference Book” from the Music Library Association. She was president of the Society for American Music (2003–05), and she collaborated with Lucius Wyatt (Prairie View A&M University) to found the Cultural Diversity Committee of the American Musicological Society. Together with Judith Clurman, she directed the Harvard festival, “Leonard Bernstein: Boston to Broadway” in 2006.
American studies
American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinary field dealing with the study of the United States. It traditionally incorporates the study of history, literature, and critical theory, but also includes fields as diverse as law, art, the media, film, religious studies, urban...
. Since 2003, she has held the post of William Powell Mason Professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Her previous appointments have been at the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
(1997–2003) and the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
(1988–97), where she was professor of music at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, as well as director of the Institute for Studies in American Music (1993–97). She attended St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
(B.A.), the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(M.A.), and the Graduate School of the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
(Ph.D.).
Her main fields of study include 20th-century American modernism
American modernism
American modernism like modernism in general is a trend of thought that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation, and is thus in its essence both progressive and optimistic...
, musical theater, and cross-cultural composition, and her work positions composers and their music within broad historical contexts. She often explores sites of musical intersection and hybridity, whether having to do with race, genre, cultural hierarchy, or geographic origin, and she probes institutional frameworks for music-making, as well as patronage (especially by women). The composers she has written about include Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, George Gershwin, Colin McPhee, Ruth Crawford Seeger, William Grant Still, and Virgil Thomson. Her principal books include:
Copland and his World, edited with Judith Tick (2005)
Making Music Modern: New York in the 1920s (2000)
Colin McPhee: Composer in Two Worlds (1990)
A Celebration of American Music: Words and Music in Honor of H. Wiley Hitchcock, edited with Richard Crawford and R. Allen Lott (1990)
American Music Recordings: A Discography of 20th Century U.S. Composers (1982)
Stravinsky in "Modern Music" (1924–1946) (1982)
She is currently at work on a book titled, Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War. She has won the Lowens Book Award from the Society for American Music, three separate ASCAP-Deems Taylor Book Awards, and an award for “Best Reference Book” from the Music Library Association. She was president of the Society for American Music (2003–05), and she collaborated with Lucius Wyatt (Prairie View A&M University) to found the Cultural Diversity Committee of the American Musicological Society. Together with Judith Clurman, she directed the Harvard festival, “Leonard Bernstein: Boston to Broadway” in 2006.