Synonyms
Creativity; Esthetics; Experience; Growth; Politics; Social equality
This contribution examines how aesthetic education can be framed in terms of democracy and how this framing can characterize the role of the arts in education as a distinct endeavor. The claim is that arts education is more than teaching the student(s) to judge the aesthetic value of art works and learning to appreciate the refined efforts of genuine artists or, indeed, the criteria for professional artistry. Each of the presented three perspectives on democracy in arts and aesthetic education transcends the simple association of arts education being a branch of aesthetic education and envisioning aesthetic education as a significant way to inhabit the public space in society. In each of the perspectives, democracy means more than a political form or a way of securing the rule of the people over decisions that influence their lives. Rather, democracy is characterized by a constant effort, which means that...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Biesta, G. (2011). Learning democracy in school and society: Education, lifelong learning, and the politics of citizenship. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Biesta, G. (2017). Letting art teach. Art education ‘after’ Joseph Beuys. Utrecht: ArtEZ Press.
Biesta, G. (2018). What if? Art education beyond expression and creativity. In C. Naughton, G. Biesta, & D. Cole (Eds.), Art, artists, and pedagogy: Philosophy and the arts in education (pp. 11–20). Abingdon: Routledge.
Dewey, J. (1927). The public and its problems. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), The collected works of John Dewey, the later works, 1925–53 (Vol. 2, pp. 235–371) Essays, Reviews, Miscellany, and the Public and Its Problems (Collected Works of John Dewey).
Dewey, J. (1934). Art as experience. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), The collected works of John Dewey, the later works, 1925–53 (Vol. 10) Art as Experience (Collected Works of John Dewey).
Greene, M. (1980). Breaking through the ordinary: The arts and future possibility. Journal of Education, 162(3), 18–26.
Greene, M. (1988). The dialectic of freedom. New York: Teachers College.
Greene, M. (1995). Prologue to art, social imagination and action. Journal of Educational Controversy 5(1). Checked December 10, 2019. https://cedar.wwu.edu/jec/vol5/iss1/2
Greene, M. (1997). Teaching as possibility: A light in dark times. Journal of Pedagogy, Pluralism, and Practice 1(1), 14–24.
Greene, M. (2007). Imagination and the Healing Arts. Checked December 10, 2019. https://maxinegreene.org/uploads/library/imagination_ha.pdf
Mouffe, C. (1993). The return of the political. London/New York: Verso.
Mouffe, C. (2007). Artistic activism and agonistic spaces. Arts and Research, 1(2). http://www.artandresearch.org.uk/v1n2/mouffe.html.
Mouffe, C. (2008) Art and democracy. Art as an Agnostic Intervention in Public Space. Art as a Public Issue, 14. https://readingpublicimage.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/mouffe_open14_p6-151.pdf.
Rancière, J. (2004). The politics of aesthetics. London: Continuum.
Funding
This research has been undertaken as part of the project The Arts as Public Service: Strategic Steps towards Equality (ArtsEqual) funded by the Academy of Finland (project no. 314223/2017).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Westerlund, H., Väkevä, L., Laes, T. (2020). Democracy, the Arts, and Aesthetic Education. In: Peters, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_685-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_685-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-532-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-532-7
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education