Education, aesthetics and the arts
Professor D N Aspin
Second semester * Clayton
This subject is intended for those interested in the theory and practice of the arts in educational institutions and for setting those interests in a more tightly conceived and articulated theoretical framework. It will address such questions as the following: why teach the arts in schools; what is involved in understanding and responding to works of art; what is the relationship between the arts and aesthetics (and the idea of `the aesthetic'); between feeling and reason (with some reference to the idea of the education of the emotions); is there a language of the arts; what might be meant by the idea of aesthetic `meaning'; do the arts have a political purpose; what is the relationship between art and morality; what status do aesthetic judgements have - are they merely matters of taste; art and culture (and the notions of `high' and `popular' or `folk' culture); arts education and multiculturalism; the problem of subjective reaction and objective appraisal; evaluation and assessment in the arts; the arts and criticism; artistic practice and education.
Assessment
Written (6000 words): 100%
Prescribed texts
Abbs P (ed.) The symbolic order Falmer, 1989
Best D Feeling and reason in the arts Allen and Unwin, 1985
Robinson K and others The arts in schools Gulbenkian Foundation, 1982
Smith R A and Simpson A (eds) Aesthetics and arts education Illinois UP, 1991