Youth Culture and Arts Education

EDU S345A Subject & Catalog Number

Description

There is widespread agreement in education that schools must engage young peoples’ cultural experiences as resources for learning and fulfilling the promise of education in a pluralistic democracy. School leaders, policymakers, and researchers understand that diverse learners come to school with funds of knowledge that differ from the cultural logics upon which schools are founded—and view youth culture as a strategy for supporting greater equity in education. Arts education has a vital, if underutilized, role to play in realizing this educational vision. Through the arts, we engage in symbolic practices to make sense of our experiences, sustain our sense of connection to our communities, and allow us to imagine and enact self-defined futures. In this course, we will engage with theoretic readings, current events, and active discussion to think expansively about the role of the arts in supporting youth culture, creativity, and civic engagement. Ultimately, this course is intended to equip students with deepened understandings about the roles of the arts in young peoples’ lives, and with background knowledge to think critically about the affordances and challenges inherent in supporting youth culture through arts education.