The Arts, Popular Culture, and Social Change

The purpose, value, and significance of the arts are perennial topics, often generating rather heated discussions. In the modern era, a philosophical perspective took hold in accord with the idea that art was separated from daily life, as well as from larger social contexts. This book argues for a perspective in which the arts are integrated with our daily lives, even as they affect social, political, and educational realities, and our understanding of those realities. A central theme of this book is that aesthetic experiences, and forms of popular culture in particular, can and often do affect the way we see, interpret, and make sense of our worlds, as well as assist in the creation of a more just, invigorating, and humane society.

Autorentext

The Author: Landon E. Beyer is Professor and Associate Dean for Teacher Education at Indiana University, Bloomington. His central research interests include curriculum theory and practice, the arts and aesthetic theory, democratic perspectives and their meanings for education, and novel approaches to teacher education. His most recent books include The Curriculum: Problems, Politics, and Possibilities, second edition, with Michael W. Apple; and Creating Democratic Classrooms.

Zusammenfassung
"Those of us engaged in teacher education, in what seem to be dark times for many of us, have been eager for a book that would integrate a critical approach with a reflective commitment to the arts. This book succeeds in pointing to possibilities of engaging with works of art in such a way that they bring people alive to deficiencies in the world around and, at once, to opportunities for transformation. Professor Beyer opens perspectives on ways of teaching that make authentic art experiences more likely for both teachers and learners. Not only does he suggest that lives can be changed, so indeed, may the shadowed places in the world...This book is splendid." (Maxine Greene, Professor of Philosophy and Education, Emeritus, Teachers College, Columbia University)