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The Aesthetics of Education: Theatre, Curiosity, and Politics in the Work of Jacques Ranciere and Paulo Freire
Author(s): Tyson E. Lewis (Author)
- Publisher: Continuum
- Publication Date: 16 Aug. 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 192 pages
- ISBN-10: 1441157719
- ISBN-13: 9781441157713
Book Description
This is a groundbreaking work, applying Ranciere’s theories of aesthetics and politics to the field of teaching, analysing the works of Dewey, Freire and other education thinkers. This innovative book examines the aesthetic event of education. Extending beyond the pedagogy of art or art appreciation, Tyson E. Lewis takes a much broader view of aesthetics and argues that teaching and learning are themselves aesthetic performances. As Jacques Ranciere has recently argued, there is an inherent connection between aesthetics and politics, both of which disrupt conventional distributions of who can speak and think. Here, Lewis extends Ranciere’s general thesis to examine how there is not only an aesthetics of politics but also an aesthetics of education. In particular, Lewis’ analysis focuses on several questions: What are the possibilities and limitations of building analogies between teachers and artists, education and specific aesthetic forms? And, what is the relationship between democracy and aesthetic sensibilities? Lewis examines these questions by juxtaposing Ranciere’s work on universal teaching, democracy, and aesthetics with Paulo Freire’s work on critical pedagogy, freedom, and literacy. The result is an extension and problematization of Ranciere’s project as well as a new appreciation for the largely ignored aesthetic dimension of Freire’s pedagogy of the oppressed.
Editorial Reviews
Review
‘In this book Tyson Lewis provides a penetrating analysis of the work of Jacques Ranciere as it pertains to the theory and practice of education. The book is an engaging, compelling, highly original and much needed intervention in current discussions about education, politics and democracy.’ –Gert Biesta, University of Stirling, UK
About the Author
Tyson E. Lewis is Assistant Professor of Educational Foundations at Montclair State University. He is the co-author of Education Out of Bounds (Palgrave, 2010).
