For teachers of arts subjects, questions about justification can be tiresome in the same way that contemporary aestheticians may feel fatigue about defining art. Providing justification can feel more like an exercise in rhetoric than theoretical enquiry, induced more by political necessity than intellectual challenge. If the value of the arts is…

Examines the nature of didacticism, the view that there are universal moral values that are conveyed through literature. Examines six commonly held ideas concerning the limits of didacticism in hope of providing renewed interest in its possibilities. (JDH)

Historicism critiques cultural history and cultural materialism as a methodology for literary analysis. Questions the finality of interpretation, how original values change, and whether dramatic history implies actual history. Using Shakespearean plays, analyzes the power and politics of a play in relation to its audience; posits that cultural…

Under present pluralistic conditions, the more practical direction of aesthetic education lies in recognizing and legitimation of levels of taste which, though not the highest, offer congenial, significant expression and satisfaction to the individual. (Author/JB)

Questions who decides what a culturally literate person needs to know and its social implications. Comments on the lack of dance references in E. D. Hirsch's book, "Cultural Literacy." Discusses what a person needs to know about dance. Analyzes dance as art in the context of cultural literacy's requirements. (KM)

Discusses teaching English literature in relation to E. D. Hirsch's book, "Cultural Literacy". Isolates Hirsch's literary references and discusses how they can be used to teach undergraduates. Maintains that schools of education and English departments can contribute to cultural literacy because they educate prospective teachers. (KM)

Discusses the differential components of cultural literacy and notes the complexity of developing a curriculum encompassing cultural literacy. Evaluates the objectives and effects of formal instruction in the quest for cultural literacy. Maintains that an integrated curriculum is necessary for cultural literacy. (KM)

Examines the origin and nature of kitsch and its prominence in contemporary U.S. culture. Discusses how kitsch can be used in the arts curriculum to teach cultural and aesthetic lessons. (KM)

Uses E. D. Hirsch's concepts of art, culture, and multiculturalism to rethink the philosophy and practice of arts education. Analyzes culture and multiculturalism and suggests that music education be conceived in multicultural terms. Disputing Hirsch's cultural uniformity, maintains that music educators should preserve the integrity of music…

Discusses the utilitarian goals of education and examines how cultural literacy can contribute to a discourse on art education. Makes observations about utilitarian versus intrinsic education. Maintains that the concept of cultural literacy can help art educators make decisions regarding the common core of art education. (KM)

Discusses theater education in the areas of curriculum, production, and criticism, as proposals in E. D. Hirsch's, "Cultural Literacy" might affect it. Explains context, cultural literacy, and contextual criticism in theater education. Traces interwoven history of education and theater. Explores how embracing Hirsch's proposal would…

Describes Jan Gossaert's painting of "St. Luke Painting the Virgin" and shows how it encompasses the intellectual pattern of early sixteenth-century thought. Discusses the arguments for and against the making of religious images and how artists overcame the potential threat to their livelihood from church authorities. Analyzes Gossaert's…

Describes aesthetic views and shows how historical context and criticism are crucial for an understanding of aesthetic objects and experiences. Views education and art as providing a meaning for life. Suggests ways in which the author's theories and E. D. Hirsch's provide meaning for Sisyphus's life. (KM)

Discusses the visual arts in relation to cultural literacy. Agrees with E. D. Hirsch that even a superficial acquaintance with certain things can enhance understanding of many others. Propounds upon the general education of undergraduates. Considers what the goal of cultural literacy means for elementary, secondary, and college curricula. (KM)

Describes different theories of art and how they disagree on the question of the way that artworks relate to the circumstance of their origins and use. Discusses how these circumstances influence the way one thinks about artworks. Considers where E. D. Hirsch's ideas on cultural literacy fit into this aesthetic controversy. (KM)