Tony Ward Education - Critical Education Theory, Pedadogogy and Practice - The Social Construction of Aesthetics 1, 2 and 3

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The Social Construction of Aesthetics 1, 2 and 3

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CRITICAL AESTHETICS PART 1A	CRITICAL AESTHETICS 1B
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This Component comprises introductory photo essay in two parts, with commentaries into the social distinctions between High Art and Common Culture, suggesting how the distinctions are socially constructed to establish and police regimes of taste that are class, race and gender based. The journey takes us from icons of the art world, into the world of common culture, developing on the way linkages that blur the original distinctions, before returning to the critically question of how these distinctions are created and who creates them. The analysis is extended and continued to connect with the politics of identity,demonstratting how at and the aesthetic are intimately and irrevocably tied to issues of Voice.

This introductiion leads naturally into the second PDF, Critical Aesthetics 2 which develops a more analytical and in-depth analysis of the philosophy and ideology of the Aesthetic, moving towards a conception of Art as a search for cultural identity and Voice.

CRITICAL AESTHETICS PART 2

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A 30 Page PDF which follows on from Critical Aesthetics 1, analysing the field of aesthetics from a Critical Postmodern viewpoint. This PDF charts the lineage of Critical Aesthetics back to its origins in Critical Theory and (more recently) Contemporary Cultural Studies. It interrogates the origin of Art as a social and conceptual category and its role in the development of Capitalism and colonisation. It reviews the role of the Church in both the development of Art and in the parallel processes of colonialism.

It then moves on to critically interrogate the Western philosophic of the Aesthetic promoted by Kant which still animates current conceptions and theories. In the process we look at the role of Gender in Art, specifically the role of the nude. This leads to a critique of the role of rationality in Art and in the Aesthetic, together with an analysis of the role and process or Aesthetic legitimation, which allows us to engage with some postmodern theories of Art as Resistance. This leads naturally to the final part of this critique, Critical Aesthetics 3.

CRITICAL AESTHETICS PART 3

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This is the final part of a 3 part Critical analysis of the field of Aesthetics, comprising a 28 page PDF which picks up where Critical Aesthetics 2 ended. We start by recalling the Art of Resistance, and, via an analysis of the morality of the Aesthetic we interrogate its role as an instrument of oppression and repression in its capacity to demonise and stereotype. In particular we note its historical role in the domain of sexual repression and colonisation. We take up again the notion of rationality, this time noting different forms of rationality - most significantly transformational rationality - that is, the form of rationality that does not shrink from confronting issues of injustice and cultural exclusion. We link this to the politics of identity and the role of the critical artist in the modern world.

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Pepi Leistyna

Thanks for forwarding this to me; it's a really great review, not just in the sense that it's supportive, but it really situates the book within the issues and the issues within the book. It's obvious that you have a fine command of this material and I'm glad to now be aware of your Webpage and will turn my students on to it.

Peter McLaren

Great article Tony! And what a terrific website! A wonderful job bringing together themes and issues of importance to critical educators everywhere. There is much to offer social justice educators from a variety of fields. Well done, companero.(Peter Mclaren)

Philip Wexler

I am in awe of your energy, diligence and resilience, and beyond that, astuteness and resoluteness in maintaining a critical stance. Those are a lot of paper(s) to work through. Thanks also for reading my paper carefully. I worried, that with a critical stance, you mighy be impatient with my reaching back into the classical tradition in social theory, and especially Weber, whom we don't usually think of as critical. But, you grasped my point precisely and encouraged me about the value of such less than obvious sorts of critical work. Good on you, if that is the appropriate term. Thanks for your work and, as someone once said to me, in passing, many years ago, Don't lose your critical edge."

Best wishes, Philip

Noah de Lissovoy

Thank you for sending along this great review. I appreciate your insightful observations on my chapter and on the volume as a whole. It's great to see such a careful and close reading of the book. I am also impressed by your wonderful website. All the best,

Noah

Joan Wink

I know I've told you this before, but thanks so much for this treasure of resources. I really appreciate all you do for so many.

Great webpages.
Joan

Ira Shor

A colleague sent me a blog mentioning me which you had graciously responded to offering your website as a resource on critical pedagogy. Just wanted to thank you for the work you've put into this admirable decoding of the critical end of things...(Ira Shor )

Antonia Darder

This is a great resource! I will definitely... pass on the information to others. (Antonia Darder )

Peter Mayo

This is a superb resource which forges links between important areas -architecture, sociology and critical education. I shall certainly share this with colleagues/students, friends and family members starting with my daughter who is an architect. It is also a brilliant teaching tool.

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