The researching and practicing of social studies education is often infused with poetry, art, literature, film, photography, and music. Engagements with and production of these aesthetic texts can promote critical thinking, foster empathetic thinking, and aid historical analysis. This article provides 3 potential theoretical explorations for why this might be so. The authors theorize aesthetic encounters in social studies education by deploying the terms of "aesthetic experience," "aesthetic conflict," and "relational aesthetics." Each of those theoretical terms aids in the exploration of why aesthetic texts are so compelling and crucially important for social studies education. Further, these theoretical terms have potential to frame future research within social studies education. The complicated aesthetic dimension to powerful social studies pedagogy, research, and practice is described herein.