Summer Benton Nickerson is a musicologist whose focus is 20th century American music and politics. She earned a Bachelor’s degree from California State University, Chico in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Music History and Literature from California State University, Sacramento. Mrs. Nickerson has been teaching courses online and on campus at various of colleges in the Bay Area and Arizona since 2009. These courses include Music Appreciation (Western Music), American Music, African American Music,World Music and Music Fundamentals. She has presented papers at national conferences including the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association and the Society of American Musicology. Titles of these papers have included “The Federal Music Project: Government Funded Music” and “Seeger Sings Anti-American Song in Moscow,” Pete Seeger and the New York Times, 1965. Mrs. Nickerson has also guest lectures on a variety of topics at CSU Sacramento, Tarleton State University (Texas) and Lon Morris University (Texas).
Mrs. Nickerson’s teaching philosophy is that it is important to encourage students to become life-long learners while at the same time engaging their critical thinking skills. Learning does not just mean memorizing facts that can then be regurgitated. Learning means understanding, processing the information, and then applying to other aspects of life. Every student can enjoy learning, especially when the topic is presented in a creative way.
