Curriculum Antecedents of Discipline-Based Art Education

Abstract

From the times of ancient Greece, the arts were discussed by such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle in terms of their didactic value in the general education of future citizens. Then, the value of the arts was not stated in terms of their capacity to offer aesthetic experience, as we tend to argue today. The issues raised by the philosophers had more to do with the efficacy of the arts as potent carriers of cultural meaning and with their suitability to foster the individual's sense of identity with his culture-what the Greeks called paideia and the Romans called bumanitas. The arts were judged to be culturally worthy, and many individuals were collectors of art, and yet the profession of artist was deemed unworthy for the children of aristocrats to pursue. This attitude persisted through the Middle Ages. In medieval society, the study of art was strictly regulated by guilds, and only lowly apprentices could be taught the skills of the studio, knowledge that was passed on with great secrecy. Art was not an integral part of the education of the learned.