Hannah Neuhauser

Dr. Hannah Neuhauser received her PhD in musicology from The University of Texas at Austin. Her research lies in the intersection of musicology, literature, and sociology, with a specialty focus on childhood studies. Her forthcoming book project, Golden Melodies (University of Mississippi Press), explores how pastoralism became the quintessential topic encoded in British and American childhood media. This niche genre is of the utmost importance because it is often the first music we hear. If children’s literature is never without ideological dimension, so too, music reifies the ideological constrictions of westernized romantic childhood through pastoral sentimentalism, conveying an obvious message intended towards the societal domestication of children. Excerpts of her work have been transformed into a single-authored publication in Children’s Literature Quarterly, a children’s recital for Austin Public Libraries, a spotlight digital exhibit on music and childhood at UT Libraries, and a special topics course dedicated to children’s music and culture.

Dr. Neuhauser is a dedicated teacher and recent recipient of the William S. Livingston Outstanding Graduate Student Academic Employee Award (UT Austin, 2025). She strives for students to develop lifelong skills in emotional regulation and self-accountability, treating them with a pedagogy of kindness to foster independent growth in collaborative spaces. She is well-versed in inclusive, universal design with an extensive background as an academic writing consultant. When not presenting at conferences like Music and the Moving Image or serving as the co-Ccair for the American Musicological Society Childhood and Youth Studies Group, she volunteers as an improv theatre teacher and stage manager in Austin's artistic community.