Ciao!
My name is Laura Montanari. I am a postdoctoral fellow in music education at Montclair State University, an adjunct professor of songwriting and music & the American experience at NJIT, and music & movement at Bank Street College of Education.
My research focuses on embodied learning, body music, and the relationship between songs and history, namely how songs can serve as primary sources, illuminate pivotal historical moments, and reveal diverse cultural perspectives and non-hegemonic historical discourses.
My career as a singer-songwriter has guided my pedagogy and scholarship, relying on songwriting and arts-based methodologies to access different ways of knowing. My music is published under the pseudonyms Larthia and Cupra:Ring.
Dissertation
Music & Books
That’s My Song! (songwriting journals series)
Let’s Make Our Sound (book)
Let’s Make Our Sound (song)
Articles
Montanari, L. (2024). Songs and Songwriting as Transformative Learning Experiences: Three Singer-Songwriters Reflect on Their “Soul Work”.
— Journal of Transformative Education, (22)2, 201-217. https://doi.org/10.1177/15413446231181637
Courses
NJIT
STS 325: Songwriting
STS 325: Music & The American Experience
Bank Street College of Education
EDUC 519: Music & Movement for Classroom Teachers (K-6)