What Makes Humor Aesthetic?

Abstract The connection between humor and aesthetic experience has already been recognized by severa

The Early Royal Society and Visual Culture

Recent studies have fruitfully examined the intersection between early modern science and visual culture by elucidating the functions of images in shaping and disseminating scientific knowledge. Given its rich archival sources, it is possible to extend this line of research in the case of the Royal Society to an examination of attitudes towards images as artefacts –manufactured objects worth commissioning, collecting and studying. Drawing on existing scholarship and material from the Royal Society Archives, I discuss Fellows’ interests in prints, drawings, varnishes, colorants, images made out of unusual materials, and methods of identifying the painter from a painting. Knowledge of production processes of images was important to members of the Royal Society, not only as connoisseurs and collectors, but also as those interested in a Baconian mastery of material processes, including a “history of trades”. Their antiquarian interests led to discussion of painters’ styles, and they gradually developed a visual memorial to an institution through portraits and other visual records.AH/M001938/1 (AHRC

Canceling, Liberty, and the Dangers to Education

This essay explores with the help of the discipline of philosophy of education the educational implications of the practice of canceling individuals or ideas. In particular, it investigates what gets lost or undermined when we cancel various opinions, words, and practices. To advance my argument, I first introduce some basic definitions while analyzing the problem with the notion of cancel culture. Then, I briefly review various historical examples of canceling going back to Socrates. The next part of this paper presents some of the philosophical arguments against canceling and restricting speech made by John Stuart Mill. After presenting Mill’s contentions in favor of liberty of expression, I revisit John Dewey’s conception of democratic association in order to show that the practice of canceling people and ideas is antithetical to Dewey’s dynamic view of democracy. Based on the insights of Mill and Dewey, in the final part I attempt to make an educational case against the practice of canceling

Gordon, Mordechai, Lying in Politics: Fake News, Alternative Facts, and the Challenges for Deliberative Citizenship Education, Educational Theory, 68(No. 1, 2018), 49-64.

Explores the consequences of utilizing lying and confusing opinion with truthful facts in current political debates and media; discusses the need for citizenship education to deal with these issues

Welcoming Confusion, Embracing Uncertainty: Educating Teacher Candidates in an Age of Certitude

This essay challenges the current emphasis on certainty, measurement and control in the field of education and the widespread view that confusion hurts students. Drawing on some recent analyses of Socrates as well as my own interpretation of his dialogues, I discuss how he might respond to the quest for certainty in education. Socrates would want us to welcome confusion and embrace uncertainty, and urge us to reconceptualize the quest for certainty as an ongoing process aimed at increasing complexity and enhancing understanding. Based on the insights I gleaned from Socrates, I argue that creating a space for perplexity and uncertainty in our classrooms is crucial for the goal of fostering citizens who are critical and independent thinkers. I conclude this essay by proposing a number of ways in which teacher educators can help their students welcome confusion and embrace uncertainty

Bridging Theory and Practice in Teacher Education

Emily Smith is a contributing author, Integrating theory and practice in an English methods course: Developing a teaching stance . Book description: This book addresses both the concerns of teacher candidates and their misconceptions about the relation of theory and practice in education. The contributors to this volume share the belief that theories provide teachers with a frame of reference and a language with which to name and critically analyze many of the problems they face daily. The significance of theory is in its ability to define the problems that teachers face, clarify their confusions, and suggest possible solutions to these problems. Once educational theories are viewed as guides to thought and instruments of interpretation rather than as established facts, it becomes clear that they cannot simply be plugged into a particular classroom. Instead, a theory must be applied in more nuanced and contextual ways, taking into account the social-historical context in which it was created as well as the various particulars of each classroom situation. Experienced educators and scholars in the field have been recruited to write essays that speak to the relevance of different theories in philosophy, psychology, sociology, English, history, science, art, technology, and multiculturalism for the practice of teaching.This book would appeal to teacher educators, teacher candidates, and teachers in general.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/education-books/1030/thumbnail.jp