Art Education and a Democratic Citizenry

The first purpose of Art Education in public schools, articulated in the eighteenth century, was the ability to shape an imaginatively responsible, empathetic, democratic citizenry; this remains an aim for today, which is hard to achieve. This article explores the continuing tension between this ori...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The international journal of art & design education 2013-10, Vol.32 (3), p.300-308
Main Author: Siegesmund, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aesthetic Education
aesthetics
art - study and teaching
Art Education
art in education
Case Studies
Citizenship Education
Curricula
Democracy
Educational Theories
Empathy
Public Schools
teaching methods
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Summary:The first purpose of Art Education in public schools, articulated in the eighteenth century, was the ability to shape an imaginatively responsible, empathetic, democratic citizenry; this remains an aim for today, which is hard to achieve. This article explores the continuing tension between this original goal and other versions of Art Education, particularly Artistic Education, focusing on professional skills and techniques, and Aesthetic Education that focuses on appreciation of objects. After reviewing Friedrich Schiller's historic contribution to theorising aesthetics as empathy and as experienced through play, and Johan Pestalozzi's practical application in a first curriculum, the article demonstrates Schiller's influence on contemporary theorists Jacques Rancière and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak who also insist that art must remain unproductive in order to defy cultural commodification. In their view, Art Education must be deviant to utility and retain an essential uselessness. A current case study demonstrates the difficulties in facilitating authentic democratic action within the utilitarian demands on today's schools. By developing wide‐awakeness in students, spaces develop where silenced individuals might be heard. Art Education curricula should form the mindful habit of an informed citizenry that fashions an art of living by constructively re‐imagining new possibilities of democratic community and empathetic understanding.
ISSN:1476-8062
1476-8070
DOI:10.1111/j.1476-8070.2013.12023.x