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Introduction
Ethnomusicologists belong to an inherently interdisciplinary musicology. We often come to graduate work in the field with undergraduate training in Western music and anthropology, and take graduate courses in politics, religion, cultural studies, multicultural literature, and related fields. Like our colleagues in musicology, we learn several languages (at least one local language and often a national or colonial language as well as French and/or German). After graduating with Ph.D.s in ethnomusicology and beginning careers as assistant professors, we are generally expected to teach four or five courses a year, including a Western "classical" music survey course and very often a world music survey course.1 Of course, this graduate school track does not apply to all of us, but surely to many. When the moment comes to present survey course material to our students, however, we tend to back away from that interdisciplinary approach in favor of covering as many areas, genres, and musical terms as possible. Greater coverage may be the norm either because it was ordered from the college administration or simply because it reflects the way many of us received survey courses as undergraduates. This article uses the case study of interdisciplinary work in music at The Evergreen State College as a potential pathway to greater depth of understanding at an undergraduate level than one might otherwise achieve.
The Evergreen State College
Teaching music at a small undergraduate liberal arts college has its advantages and disadvantages for both teachers and students, both of which are likely to be recognized at each end (teaching and learning) of the instructional spectrum. Among the disadvantages are the small numbers of curricular offerings, appropriate facilities, support staff, and performing ensembles. When that small liberal arts college is described as having "the best academic reputation of any regional liberal arts college, public or private, in the nation" (U.S. News and World Report 2000 College Guide), and is "known far and wide for its interdisciplinary, collaborative coordinated studies programs" (Kliewer 1999: 182), however, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.2 Since 1967, The Evergreen State College has been known in academic and administrative circles for its innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning, for its hands-on work across every discipline, and for its steadfast refusal to conform to traditional methodology.3...