Arts, Aesthetics, and Citizenship Education: Democracy as Experience in a Postmodern World

Abstract

Educators across academic environments seek to prepare students for participation in the development of a more just and caring society and world. In this paper, I explore the value of "art" and "aesthetics," broadly defined, as means of addressing these issues through citizenship education. After a brief historical review of the social studies, I identify a particular conception of democratic education toward which we might aim. Next, I discuss existing relationships between the arts and civics education and introduce a postmodern alternative. I conclude with a detailed exploration of the value of arts and aesthetics within a postmodern context for the development of a strong, creative democracy in a multicultural society.

School Children's Visualisations of Europe

“…[10] Houser (2005) defines postmodernism as an intellectual movement that tends to reject the universal, structural, mechanical and hierarchical in favour of an emphasis on difference, multiplicity and the context-specific nature of experience. Postmodern artists challenge modern notions of form, function and aesthetic quality as well as the social, political and conceptual foundations of modernity itself (p. 63).…”

Outside in: a critically compassionate approach to education for civic engagement

“…The efforts described above and others, such as those suggested by Bell (2010) and Houser (2005), point to the potential of using art as a vehicle for engendering an individual sense of self-worth founded on principles of trust, safety, and acceptance. Similarly, the arts have been shown to be especially useful with at-risk, disadvantaged populations, with participation in the arts linked to increased self-esteem, desire/motivation, academic achievement, creative problem solving, teamwork, and independence (Deasy, 2002(Deasy, , 2008Fiske, 1999).…”

Problem Posing in Teacher Education: A Freirian Approach

“…Searching for connections in problem-posing education provides crucial opportunities for students to join the larger conversation. This is essential in a strong democracy, where civic participation requires more than merely casting a ballot every few years (e.g., Barber, 1984;Houser, 2005).…”

“…We considered, among other things, the influence of modernity, not only as a privileged way of perceiving the world, but also as an invisible mechanism limiting systemic thought in contemporary society (e.g., Capra, 1996). We addressed the fact that without the ability to think systemically, it is exceedingly difficult to think self-consciously and self-critically about our complicity in the reproduction of modem society (Houser, 2005). And we linked these matters back to Freire's original concerns and our contemporary observations regarding the pedagogy of the oppressed.…”