The field of musicology is traditionally divided into three areas: historical musicology, music ethnology, and systematic musicology. At the Frankfurt Institute, historical musicology is represented by two professorships, a co-opted professorship, and an academy professorship, all of which cover the full breadth of music history in their teaching. Current focal points include research on interpretation, modern editorial philology, 20th-century music, the history of opera in the 18th and 19th centuries, and cultural studies questions. Music ethnology, represented by one professorship, focuses on teaching both traditional and popular music from around the world. Additionally, courses on popular music and on music, media, and digitality are offered from both music history and music ethnology perspectives. Through a cooperation with the University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK), there are regular opportunities to integrate musical practice into musicology teaching.
The Frankfurt Institute of Musicology, which currently has about 600 enrolled students, is part of the Faculty of Language and Culture Studies (FB 09) at Goethe University. It provides students with a stimulating environment in many ways: The diverse expertise of the faculty enables a wide range of thematic offerings in teaching, with a focus on music history and music ethnology. In addition to emphasizing European music from the 17th to the 21st centuries and global musical cultures, popular music is also addressed. Concepts such as cultural transfer shape the discourse alongside traditional, analysis-based methods of music research. Through a partnership with the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEÄ), courses in systematic musicology, music aesthetics, and music psychology are also regularly offered. Students gain core knowledge specific to historical musicology and music ethnology, explore contemporary issues in music cultures in all their diversity, and develop methodological skills related to interpretation and performance, music and media, as well as music and digitality.