The Aesthetics of Deliberation:John Dewey’s Classroom as a Model of Association.

This paper will use an aesthetic interpretation John Dewey’s conception of the schoolroom as a model for an association in civil society that encourages liberal-democratic political characteristics in citizens. Although many have noted the implications of John Dewey’s work for contemporary civil society theory, this paper assumes a two unique positions. First, it not only makes the common claim that Dewey felt the democratic benefits of face-to-face association accrue from discussion among diverse participants that cultivates tolerance and encourages creative problem solving, but also it emphasizes how he stressed that associational discourse must occur with specific spatial and temporal characteristics. Dewey noted that such political talk must follow a particular pace, with a particular developmental direction, or it will devolve into a mire of unrelated assertions with no political benefit. Furthermore, the paper asserts that in order to maintain such a conversation, Dewey recommended that the actual structure of the discourse must occasionally limit freedom and discourage certain points of view. In contradiction to most understandings of Dewey’s progressive education, he actually foresaw the effective classroom as under the control of an assertive teacher who regulated the aesthetic-pedagogic characteristics of student discussion. When theorizing the implications of this fact for theories of civil society, it becomes clear that if Dewey’s classroom is used as model for face-to -face discussion that encourages democratic skills, in distinction to many contemporary writers, the associations where this discussion occurs need not exhibit a “logic of congruence”* with the characteristics they hope to encourage. This understanding depends upon a specific interpretation of Dewey. Although Dewey as a pragmatist possesses a reputation for a prosaic liberalism, his work is actually laced with aesthetic themes. And although most fully developed in his Art As Experience, even his earlier pedagogic work possesses these elements. It is through Dewey’s conception of the aesthetic, or spatial and temporal dimension of everyday physical and mental experience, that I interpret his work. In this paper I focus primarily upon two texts, his well-known School and Society (1900) and his lesser-known Educational Lectures Before Brigham Young Academy, (1900-1901) as exemplars of the aesthetic aspects of Dewey’s pedagogic work. Through these texts I demonstrate Dewey’s assertion that students need to experience the diverse subject matter constituent of an effective liberal education in a manner that encourages not only retention of material but also construction of connections between seemingly incommensurate disciplines and unrelated facts. The implication for theories of civil society should be clear: Just as students must make connections between varied disciplines for understanding, citizens must be able to build relationships with other individuals and political positions in face-to-face dialog that cultivates tolerance and effective political knowledge. And if Dewey is to be used as a model for discourse in small scale association, then the aesthetic characteristics of this conversation remains as important as its diverse substance. * I take this phrase from Nancy Rosenblum’s Membership and Morals: The Personal Uses of Pluralism in the United States. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]