Provides a brief background on current developments in aesthetics and the contested concepts of three approaches to aesthetics: (1) historical philosophical aesthetics; (2) aesthetic perception and experience; and (3) aesthetic inquiry. Concludes by proposing a fourth approach based on critical theory. (Author/BSR)

This article examines discipline-based art education (DBAE) issues for their origins, meanings, and implications. The issues are discussed within four general categories of conceptual structure, curriculum selections, research foundations, and organizational affiliations. (Author/JDH)

The character of art criticism, both how it naturally occurs and how it is academically constructed, is reflective of social and aesthetic value orientations--much as the art object itself has been found to be a clue to the values of the society in which it is practiced, used, and appreciated. The belief that the art object possesses…

There is no dearth of claims as to the benefits of historical study. Written histories not only reflect the personal and professional interests of individual historians, they also relate to the larger priorities of the professional discipline they represent. Patterns of art education's professional development can be ascertained by an examination…

Discusses six instructional approaches to aesthetics: (1) historical-philosophical; (2) cultural literacy; (3) aesthetic inquiry; (4) social-critical consciousness; (5) cross-cultural and multicultural; and (6) aesthetic perception and experiences. Examines instructional applications of these approaches, assess their flexibility for classroom…