The study "New Media in the Humanities: from metaphors of inevitability to metaphors of possibility," argues that using digital technologies in humanities classrooms (at the post-secondary level) is transformative for both students and professors. It begins by identifying and then allaying the fears that scholars in the humanities…

Examines the controversy over what should make up core curriculum and whether topics such as values clarification, visual literacy, thinking skills, and computer literacy should be included in such curriculum. (JC)

Observes a number of illustrations from a wide variety of whaling narratives and discusses the purposes and assumptions behind them. Considers the individual artists and their contributions. Francis Allyn Olmstead romanticized the profession while J. Ross Brown emphasized the sordid aspects of whaling life. (MJP)

Presents a psychoanalytic critique of an advertisement for the Getty Center for Education in the Arts multicultural program. Applying principles derived from Lacan, Foucault, and Derrida, reveals basic racist, sexist, and elitist assumptions embedded in the advertisement. Includes a reproduction of the advertisement and extensive footnotes. (MJP)

Provides six lesson outlines to help teachers motivate high school students to discuss basic questions about the meaning and function of art, aesthetic responses cultural context, and artistic skill. Illustrates artwork from the Museum of Modern Art by Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Meret Oppenheim. (KM)

Discusses using educational and popular films and television for history instruction. Argues that students need training to see the bias built into film making through the editing process. Urges that critical thinking must be developed in students to make use of mass media coverage of historical and current events as teaching tools. (DK)

Contends that history teachers should help students develop critical viewing and thinking skills about visual images. Discusses the emerging practice of blurring the lines between entertainment and information in television, films, and other visual presentations. Provides two sets of questions to help students analyze documentaries, television…

Investigating the effects of computer paint programs, the authors observed two groups of first and fourth graders--one using crayons and word processors, the other using a paint program and word processors. Discusses student collaboration, visual/verbal literacy, creativity, advantages and disadvantages, and paint programs in the classroom. A…

This study explores the usefulness of an online platform for capturing field experiences of inservice teachers enrolled in a graduate level literacy course. Four lessons related to the online field experience are offered: (1) instructors cannot adequately assess teachers without visual examples; (2) teachers and instructors need detailed…

With the importance of imagery in our culture and the increasing access to both digital images and the tools used to manipulate them, it is important that social studies teacher educators prepare preservice teachers to provide their students with opportunities to develop a critical lens through which to view images. As we strive to encourage the…

Forty students, grades 4 and 8, were given match-to-sample tests on Western art, to gauge their ability to recognize paintings by the same artist. Eighth-graders performed reliably better than fourth-graders, and their matching justifications were more advanced. Prior artistic experiences improved style sensitivity. (SJL)

Elaborates some strategies for incorporating soap opera into a composition course for remedial English students. Approach provides an instructional uniformity--everyone will be writing on the same subject matter; and plot, narrative, characterization, structure, etc. can be discussed and essay topics developed. (NKA)

Since the eighteenth century, both artists and art historians have received educational benefits from public art museums. The main function of public museums, however, has usually been the improvement or refinement of public taste. But in addition to education and pleasure, another museum objective is that of moral improvement. (RM)

The possibility of enhancing the comprehension of television news reporting through a school program of literacy education was studied in Italy with 60 7th graders and 50 11th graders. Results demonstrate that even brief critical viewing instruction can have an impact on student comprehension and attitudes. (SLD)

Reports on the results of an experiment testing 58 elementary school students tasked with chronologically ordering a set of nine historical pictures and thinking aloud about their efforts. Provides increased evidence regarding the kind and sources of children's historical knowledge and how they deploy that knowledge. (MJP)