Controversial professor enters debate over UCPH musicology

It is as if she just won’t go away.

German musicology professor Linda Maria Koldau, formerly Aarhus University now at Kiel and Utrecht, caused a rumpus in recent years with outspoken criticism of Danish humanities culture. Only recently she released the first segments of a three-part trilogy that purports to expose the academic environment at Aarhus University, comparing it to state communism.

Now she has re-entered the debate. This time about the University of Copenhagen musicology department’s plan to down-adjust the weight of practical music subjects relative to theory in the curriculum.

Refers to ‘parody courses’

“From my perspective as an internationally profiled professor in musicology it is fundamentally OK, if a programme of study decides to focus on one specific aspect of music science. ”

“But: Do it right, and do it at an international level!,” she says in a comment under an article on Danish-language site Uniavisen.dk.

Linda Maria Koldau warns that the courses that are offered at Aarhus University are a parody that no international expert would call music science, and that Copenhagen should not follow suit.

Responses critical

Statements by University of Copenhagen staff and students for her recent book, “say a lot,” she says without going into more detail.

Her entrance into the debate has so-far only provoked critical response.

Anders Aktor, for example, writes that “I don’t see the shadow of argument in the comment, which is solely legitimised by her references to her status of professor over many years. This, of course, instills awe. But is surely no actual argument for the claims that she presents.”

Koldau: They cram two educations into one

Linda Maria Koldau goes into more detail for the University Post.

“There is a basic problem that Danish musicology programmes try to cram two educations into one. They don’t differentiate between music teaching and musicology,” she says.

See the University Post review of Linda Maria Koldau’s trilogy: Review: Danish academia – an ideology like communism.

Read an excerpt from Linda Maria Koldau’s book ‘Jante University’.

universitypost@adm.ku.dk

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