DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS IN MUSICOLOGY-ONLINE

Jacobs School of Music
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405

ABOUT THIS SITE

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Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology began in 1952 as a publication of the Joint Committee of the Music Teachers National Association and the American Musicological Society, chaired by Helen Hewitt. For many years thereafter, Dr. Hewitt maintained and expanded Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology through its 2d (1957 [1958]), 3d (1961), and 4th (1965) editions and various supplements for the Journal of the American Musicological Society and the American Music Teacher. Beginning in 1966, Cecil Adkins assumed responsibility for the publication, and under his direction Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology flourished for many years: a 5th edition appeared 1971; in 1977, a new edition appeared as the International Index of Dissertations and Musicological Works in Progress; in 1984, the 2d international edition returned to the original title Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology, under the co-editorship of Cecil Adkins and Alis Dickinson; and in 1996, the 2d series, 2d cumulative edition appeared, once again under the co-editorship of Cecil Adkins and Alis Dickinson. The discipline of musicology remains enormously grateful to these three individuals for their long commitment to Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology.

In the mid-1990s, the Board of Directors of the American Musicological Society decided to move away from conventional publication of Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology in favor of electronic distribution of the information contained in this important and venerable reference tool. The AMS Committee on Technology discussed the issues at its meetings in 1994 and 1995, and a special Committee on DDM (comprised of Professors Thomas Bauman, David E. Crawford [chair], Thomas J. Mathiesen, and John H. Roberts) was eventually appointed to make a specific recommendation to the Board. The committee subsequently endorsed a proposal from the Thesaurus Musicarum Latinarum (TML) at Indiana University to develop the online version of Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology, beginning in the Fall of 1996.

The new office of DDM-Online officially opened in September 1996, with preliminary work on the design of the site undertaken during the preceding summer. Records of new dissertation topics and completed dissertations, submitted after the closing date for the publication of the 1996 cumulation of Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology, were sent to Indiana University and entered in the new online resource.

DDM-Online is browsable (i.e., it is possible to bring up on the screen a "page" containing all the records pertaining to a chronological period or a category for general and miscellaneous records), just as was possible in the print versions of Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology. It is also searchable by author and by keyword (i.e., it is possible to bring up on the screen records matching any term in any part of a record). With these alternatives, we hope that DDM-Online will be a useful new resource. As the system develops, there will be other features, too.

All records from the 2d international edition (1984) and from the 2d series, 2d cumulative edition (1996) of Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology have now been converted and appear as part of DDM-Online. Throughout its development, I have been fortunate in working with Nicholas M. Butler, DDM Project Assistant in the academic year 1996-97, and subsequently Andreas Giger (1997-2000) and Peter Slemon (since 2000), my colleagues in the Center for the History of Music Theory and Literature. The success of DDM-Online is due in large measure to their efforts.

The pages of DDM-Online will be updated periodically throughout the academic year.

The card on which dissertation topics or completed dissertations have been reported has now been redesigned, and the DDM office would appreciate it very much if all dissertations--in progress or completed--would now be reported on this card or by means of our online registration form. If you need a card or if you are a graduate adviser and would like to keep a few cards on hand to give to your students, please call or write to us, and we will mail the materials to you immediately.

If you have already reported your dissertation, there have been no changes in its status, and it appears on one of the pages of this site, you do not need to report it to us once again. If your dissertation was reported to the former DDM office prior to its deadline (i.e., mid-1995) for inclusion in the 2d series, 2d cumulative edition (1996) of Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology, your record should appear there. If it does not and it is unlisted here, or if the status of your dissertation has changed, please do report it to us on our new card or by means of our online registration form. Likewise, because the search engine utilizes keywords in addition to words in the titles of dissertations, please feel free to notify us of additional keywords, RILM or UMI numbers, or other details that should be added to your record.

The office of the Center for the History of Music Theory and Literature (CHMTL), which provides a home for DDM-Online, is open from 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. (EST), Monday through Friday of each week, and we will be glad to take calls requesting materials or inquiring about the project. At other times of the day or night, you may leave a message, and we will respond as soon as possible. In addition to the telephone, you may also contact us by conventional mail, e-mail, and FAX (addresses and telephone numbers appear at the end of this message). Please note, though, that we will not accept notices of dissertations (in progress or completed) by telephone or e-mail.

Please be assured that we will try to respond as quickly as possible to any questions, comments, or inquiries.

Sincerely yours,
Thomas J. Mathiesen
Director

Conventional mail:
Doctoral Dissertations in Musicology
Jacobs School of Music
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405
USA

Email:
mathiese@indiana.edu

phones:
(812) 855-6889 (CHMTL office; voice and answering machine)
(812) 856-5024 (CHMTL FAX)
(812) 855-5471 (Mathiesen office; voice and answering machine)