An Environmental Philosophy for Music Education Based on Satis Coleman’s (1878–1961) Writings on Music and Nature

Abstract

The 21st century has been defined by ecological crises, and these crises have been absent from most critical conversations in music teaching and learning. Satis Coleman’s music education writings, influential in the 1920s and 30s, focused on music and nature. The intellectual history presented in this essay, a historiography of ideas and thinkers, frames selected writings by Coleman as an environmental philosophy. This essay is built qualitatively around the themes of nature, consumption and conservation, epistemology/ethics/policy, and evolution. Coleman’s environmental philosophy provides an opening for music educators to begin teaching and learning for eco-literacy through music.