Brent C. Talbot

Brent C. Talbot is a Professor at the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College, where he has established himself as a leading scholar in critical approaches to music education. His faculty position is evidenced by numerous publications in the Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications series and his active scholarly contributions to the field.

Talbot's research focuses on creating more inclusive and socially just music education environments through several intersecting areas:

• LGBTQ+ experiences and inclusion in music teacher education programs
• Critical discourse analysis as a methodological approach to understanding music teaching and learning
• Urban music education and community-based pedagogical models
• Ethnomusicological perspectives, particularly on Balinese gamelan traditions
• Superdiversity and its implications for contemporary music classrooms
• Queer theory and Afrofuturism as frameworks for reimagining music education

His publication trajectory reveals a movement from examining specific case studies of preservice teacher identity development toward broader theoretical engagements with systemic issues in music education. Recent work demonstrates increasing sophistication in applying critical theories to music education contexts, with publications addressing positionality in research, decolonial approaches, and emancipatory pedagogical practices. Talbot consistently challenges traditional paradigms and advocates for transformative approaches to music teaching and learning that center marginalized voices.

Talbot has been a significant contributor to conversations about LGBTQ+ inclusion in music education, notably through his research on the experiences of LGBTQ+ students in teacher education programs across Pennsylvania and Texas. His editorial work, including guest editing special issues and serving as editor for Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education (ACT), demonstrates his leadership in shaping scholarly discourse in the field.