Adorno: Cultural Education and Resistance

Abstract

In recent years, culture has become significantly politicized, or conspicuously de-politicized, in different parts of the UK, making its appearance in education policy of pivotal interest and ripe for critical attention. From the vantage point of Theodor Adorno's work on the culture industry and his writings on the work of the teacher, I argue that cultural education is a site where something crucial and distinctive takes place. Within the Enlightenment tradition, critical self-reflection and resistance to heteronymous ways of thinking are core aims of education. Adorno's contribution to an understanding of these aims leads us to consider the importance of 'live contact with the warmth of things' as essential to ethical and intellectual life. The kindly tolerance of the pluralist ideal is now being teased and goaded by acts of terror and widespread concern about personal and social security. At such an unstable juncture, an understanding of cultural education as an experience of 'incorrigible plurality' enriches and informs the beleaguered ideal of pluralism and points a way forward in troubled times. Keywords Adorno Á Culture Á Cultural education Á Pluralism The room was suddenly rich and the great bay-window was Spawning snow and pink roses against it Soundlessly collateral and incompatible World is suddener than we fancy it World is crazier and more of it than we think, Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion The tangerine and spit the pips and feel & Sharon Jessop

Adorno on democratic pedagogy and the education of emotions: Pedagogical insights for resisting right-wing extremism

“…There are several recent works in philosophy of education that have touched on Adorno's notion and critique of the culture industry and their relevance for education (e.g. see Jessop, 2017;Snir, 2017). 5.…”

Resistencia educativa bidimensional en el establecimiento educativo terciario moderno de Ucrania

“…The influence of neoliberalism and neoliberal practices on the educational process and the emergence of resistance in students have become the special interest of Sanders-McDonagh y Davis (2018), Zembylas (2019), andEdwards (2020). The interrelation between the learning process, cultural literacy and the society are researched by Jessop (2017), Wozniak (2017). By her part, Bojesen (2021) analyzed resistance based on upbringing norms.…”

Cultural Education: Panacea or Amplifier of Existing Inequalities in Political Engagement?

“…Access to and participation in educational programmes have been an integral part of discussions on political engagement for several years. Cultural and arts education in particular (hereafter referred to as cultural education) has received a lot of attention recently and has often been proclaimed as a panacea for some of these profound social challenges (Jessop, 2017). Besides knowledge of the arts themselves, cultural education aims to promote the maturity of children, young people and adults, critical thinking on social processes (Dumitru, 2019;Lampert, 2006), personality development and to provide spaces to challenge social traditions and values (Fietz, 2009).…”