Although the public worries over the state of the arts in the schools, it has actual disdain for the arts in society. The schools actively contribute to America's aesthetic atrophy by treating art as a frill. We can change this situation by providing serious art instruction at all grade levels. (Author/SJL)

Examines samples of language usage from the Australian mass media, pointing to the media's influence on student language and to the need for teaching students how to understand media language usage. (RL)

Lists the recommendations and rationales by 14 teachers for film/book combinations successfully included in the classroom. (KEH)

Argues that television convention mitigates against depictions of technology as socially destructive. Argues that the presentation of science as television fiction is a conservative act. Concludes that television reinforces the socially constructed technological imperative of industrial societies, effacing its own role in the preservation of the…

Recent trends in French society are outlined, focusing on the decline of major institutions (the state, political parties, unions, education, and church), the decline of civic consciousness, the cult of money and competition, the cult of the media, evolution of social classes, and changes in the role of the family. (MSE)

Presents a dialogue between National Endowment for the Humanities chairman, Lynne V. Cheney, and Modern Language Association president, Catharine R. Stimpson. Presents their views on literary criticism, teaching and research, feminism, the future of the humanities, and the search for enduring values in a pluralistic society. Examines the idea of a…

Offers an annotated chronology of Venezuelan films, representing a first step toward a general history of women's filmmaking in Venezuela. Suggests that the participation of women directors closely follows the curve of national film production in general. (RS)

Examines two issues related to Indian mascots in North American sports culture: (1) deculturation or stripping away an ethnic group's culture; and (2) dysconscious racism or unconscious acceptance of the dominant group's norms and privileges. Discusses effects on Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and calls on educators to help eliminate…

The rising popularity of risky or exciting recreational activities that provide intensive sensory and emotional experiences is linked to a desire for an inner experience of being in the present moment. However, such bliss seeking is complicated by modern time pressures and fears of disappointment and wasted time. Challenges for experiential…

Since the early nineties, David Novitz and the author have been engaged in an ongoing debate about mass art. The latest installment in that exchange is Novitz's article "The Difficulty with Difficulty" which represents a sustained attack on the conception of mass art advanced in the author's book "A Philosophy of Mass Art." In this article, the…

David Wisniewski's 1992 picture book version of the African epic of "Sundiata, Lion King of Mali" and the actual historical account of the 13th century Lion King, Sundiata, are both badly served by Disney's "The Lion King." Disney has been praised for using African animals as story characters; for using the African landscape as…

Claiming that understanding the social context in which words are formed is necessary to appreciate the richness and vitality of language, this book presents an informal, discursive examination of how and why American speech came to be the way it is, and in particular where the words came from. The book follows a roughly chronological format from…

The relationships among Black Studies as an intellectual discipline and rap music are explored. It is argued that black urban culture has provided much of the impetus for Black Studies, and that the academy and those involved in the black studies discipline should feel a responsibility to take rap music seriously as the expression of urban youth,…

Schools, with the assistance of parents and teachers, frequently gang up on children in the service of what they believe is a neutral, objective idea of how a child ought to behave, look, dress, learn, and be. Children, in turn, learn how to live within these supposedly neutral norms, and may grow up to enforce these same rules upon their…

In this high tech era when nations are competing fiercely for every edge, America's educational institutions are being accused of producing an army of illiterates who cannot read their graduation diplomas or locate the United States on a world map. The most significant change over the past 30 years is surely the environment surrounding the lives…