Jazz Aesthetics and the Democratic Imperative in Education: A dialogue

Abstract

AbstractWhat appeared decades ago as solely a European model—Thatcherism—is now a global trend with no apparent end in sight. Neoliberalism in the public sector, and within the educational sphere particularly, pervades within a larger pattern of hegemonic ideologies. In sum, market forces and global capitalism make it quite difficult for public education, both nationally and internationally, to retain its democratic ethos, the historical aim of common schools. Is there an antidote to corporate, global capitalism ideologies undermining the democratic aims and the common good in public education? In this article the authors assert that, indeed, there are discursive spaces where scholars and citizens can turn. One space is the arts, especially jazz. In jazz the discursive, social practices of improvisation, call and response and the tradition of ‘standing on the shoulders of those who came before you' (honoring elders) facilitate deep democracy.This article borrows both from the metaphors and discursive prac...