ERIC Number: EJ962279
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 12
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-8510
EISSN: N/A
The Beauty of the Psyche and Eros Myth: Integrating Aesthetics into Introduction to Psychology
Diessner, Rhett; Burke, Kayla
Journal of Aesthetic Education, v45 n4 p97-108 Win 2011
Beginning in the late 1990s the authors became convinced that their undergraduate psychology students needed classroom experiences that set the conditions for them to become more engaged with beauty. They recognized the intrinsic importance of beauty to human psychological development, beyond any utilitarian concerns. But they also believed that there were important psychological benefits to be gained by becoming increasingly engaged with beauty. In this paper, the authors briefly describe some of those benefits that have been documented in the psychological research literature in the last decade. This paper primarily outlines a curricular recipe for infusing beauty into an Introduction to Psychology course at the undergraduate collegiate level. The course experientially affirms Winston's argument "that beauty should be one of our core educational values" and aligns itself with Winston's summary of Plato, Schiller, and Danto that as "beauty is a deep human need and not an option for life, then it is surely time for educationalists to rethink its place in the life of the school." The authors did such rethinking, and the results of that curricular contemplation are described in this paper. (Contains 62 notes.)
Descriptors: Aesthetics, Psychology, Introductory Courses, Undergraduate Study, Mythology, Music, Theater Arts, Visual Arts, Poetry, Literature, College Instruction
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A