London's Bicentennial (Snippet 2)

For International Women's Day

Early Feminism in London, Ontario - 1890
    An example is found in The Woman's Tribune, which is suitably situated in Beatrice, Nebraska. See the issue for Nov.8,1890. Under the heading "New Women's Papers", it notes "that new periodicals of, for and by women are springing up on every hand." 

   Ms. Wetherald is accomplished enough to have her own Wikipedia entry, from which the photograph was taken. A cursory search quickly found this: "Wives and Daughters," Isabel Campbell, The Mirror, Vol.1, No.1. 
   "Wives and Daughters" was published in London, Ontario as a monthly supplement to the London Advertiser between 1890 and 1892. Subscribers were expected to pay twenty-five cents per annum to receive it in the first year and fifty cents annually afterwards. Why and exactly when the publication folded is not known. The last known issue is Volume III, No. 1 in October of 1892 and there is no mention of the publication’s demise in it or in the London Advertiser at this time."
  The complete article is available online or in the Special Collections in the D.B. Weldon Library. It is published by the History Department at Western. 

The Journal of Schenkerian Studies

 Little Journal ----Large Issues

   I have devoted several posts to the subject of journals which are basically about one person. That person is usually an author, but in this case the periodical is about the Austrian music theorist Heinrich Schenker who was also an author. The number of subscribers to it is much smaller than the number of words in this post which I hope to keep very short.
   I should, because I know even less about classical music than I do about a very large number of other subjects about which I know little. Plus, I can't read music or German and the title of this journal scares me as much as the word "calculus." I understand enough, however, to know that even a little magazine can get into big trouble, if it is located on a campus and the subject of race arises.
   The Journal of Schenkerian Studies is published at the Center for Schenkerian Studies at the University of North Texas. The Center is headed by Professor Timothy Jackson, a tenured professor of music theory. 
    Across the country at Hunter College there is a Professor Ewell, also a music professor, but a Black one, a colour that should be mentioned in this case. In 2019, he travelled to Columbus and addressed the Society for Music Theory. The title of the talk was "Music Theory's White Racial Frame" and apparently one doesn't have to know much about music theory to understand the major points made, that Schenker was a racist, a fact ignored by the Schenkerians, and that, to put it bluntly, classical music was too white.  Apparently he received a standing ovation, which is a rather rare thing at an academic conference. 
   This news reached Texas and it is fair to say Professor Jackson did not agree. He then did what should be done when such academic arguments develop -- issue a call for papers to debate the issue. Articles discussing the Ewell arguments were returned and published in The Journal of Schenkerian Studies. Some agreed with Professor Ewell and some did not. Professor Jackson did not. Apart from the Black/white arguments, there were some into which anti-semitism was injected to further complicate the attempt at discourse.(Schenker, who was Jewish, died in 1935 and his wife died ten years later in Theresienstadt.)
   The news generated about this polemical essay in a very small academic periodical, was considerable. It came to the attention of the graduate students in Texas as did the word "race" and, probably without reading the papers, many decided that even a tenured professor should be fired it he was a racist. Others piled on and there was a demand that he be terminated.
   Naturally the news was a nuisance for those in the administrative  wing at North Texas and, not surprisingly, Professor Jackson was removed as editor and generally ostracized from departmental matters. 
   Once again, Professor Jackson did not agree, feeling perhaps that he had been treated shoddily, and sued the UNT regents and others who had defamed him and violated his right to speak freely. The regents appealed, but a Texas Court of Appeals ruled in favour of Professor Jackson and the litigation continues. 
   To keep this short, this episode can be characterized simply as another cannon shot at another canon that is a construct of a different group of DWEMS - DWEMusicians. It illustrates that even a little academic single author journal with limited circulation can have a big impact. 

Sources: 
   For most, all of the information you will want can be found freely in the Wikipedia entries for Heinrich Schenker or the one for The Journal of Schenkerian Studies. To visit the scene of the crime, go to the UNT School of Music and the Division of Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology where the Journal of Schenkerian Studies still exists, apparently in a suspended state.
   If you are willing to pay, start here: "Obscure Musicology Journal Sparks Battles Over Race and Free Speech: A scholar’s address about racism and music theory was met with a vituperative, personal response by a small journal. It faced calls to cease publishing," Michael Powell, NYT, Feb. 14, 2021. 
"A periodical devoted to the study of a long-dead European music theorist is an unlikely suspect to spark an explosive battle over race and free speech."

The Bonus: 
Professor Ewell's views are expressed in his recently published book which is available up at Western in the Music Library. Here is a description:
On Music Theory: And Making Music More Welcoming For Everyone.
"Since its inception in the mid-twentieth century, American music theory has been framed and taught almost exclusively by white men. As a result, whiteness and maleness are woven into the fabric of the field, and BIPOC music theorists face enormous hurdles due to their racial identities. In On Music Theory, Philip Ewell brings together autobiography, music theory and history, and theory and history of race in the United States to offer a black perspective on the state of music theory and to confront the field's white supremacist roots. Over the course of the book, Ewell undertakes a textbook analysis to unpack the mythologies of whiteness and western-ness with respect to music theory, and gives, for the first time, his perspective on the controversy surrounding the publication of volume 12 of the Journal of Schenkerian Studies. He speaks directly about the antiblackness of music theory and the antisemitism of classical music writ large and concludes by offering suggestions about how we move forward. Taking an explicitly antiracist approach to music theory, with this book Ewell begins to create a space in which those who have been marginalized in music theory can thrive." -- Back cover.

Factlet (17)

 

Toronto Public Library
  Factlet (16) let you know that the Canadian dollar was worth about 61 cents in 2002, so it still has a ways to fall. This one provides some astonishing numbers about the TPL, which I assume are true. Those who never visit a library will likely be surprised by the numbers who do, either physically or virtually. 

About TPL

"Toronto Public Library is the biggest and busiest public library system in North America, with more than 46 million annual visits to our branches and online. We empower Torontonians to thrive in the digital age and knowledge economy through easy access to technology, lifelong learning, and diverse cultural and leisure experiences, where, when and how our customers need us.

Key Facts and Statistics

TPL has 100 branches and two bookmobiles that serve neighbourhoods across the city; we also provide 24/7 access to collections and services through tpl.ca. Our collections include 10.5 million items, such as books, CDs, DVDs and eBooks, with 40 languages represented.

According to a public survey conducted in 2019, 68% of Torontonians use their library, and in 2023:

There were more than 46 million visits to TPL – 12.5 million visits to our branches and 33.5 million visits to TPL online platforms.

There were more than six million wireless sessions in library branches and almost 1.9 million public computer workstation sessions.

Nearly 700,000 participants attended over 33,000 in-person library programs, and we offered over 1,000 online programs with total views and attendance of more than 45,000.

Library materials were borrowed 25 million times.

252,000 people registered for a library card."

Source: 
Toronto Public Library
The Bonus:

  If you wonder what people are reading see: "Toronto Public Library Reveals the Most Read Books of 2024."

  For Ottawa see: "Ottawa Public Library Reveals Its Most Popular Books in 2024."

  For Vancouver, a different list: "Britney Spears and 'romantasy': The Vancouver Public Library's most-borrowed books of 2024: Self-help essays and a book on Indigenous botany topped the adult category; fantasy dominated the teen section," CBC News, Dec. 24, 2024.

   The picture above relates to the Carnegie Libraries. The Carnegie Corporation continues to contribute to the library cause: "Carnegie Returns to Its Roots With Millions in Grants to Public Libraries," Alex Daniels, Carnegie Org News, Sept. 20, 2024.
"Carnegie Corporation of New York will devote $4 million to three of the city’s [New York] public libraries in a set of grants that mark the philanthropy’s return to its roots."