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The revista española de pedagogía (Spanish Journal of Pedagogy or rep) is one of the oldest journals in the world dealing with pedagogical research. During the several decades it has been published, the revista española de pedagogía has always maintained the highest standards of quality and it has gained international awards.
The logo of the journal is a wheel, a symbol that wants to evoke several ideas: creativity and forward motion, the wisdom eye that enters into the knowledge of reality, the sun that radiates knowledge and makes ideas shine more clearly, as well as the globe, the sign of an education that is interested in the society where it belongs. This symbol, together with some other figures, is represented in the famous picture painted by Raphael entitled “the School of Athens”, in recognition of one of the most important moments of Pedagogy.
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| Citizenship education and the teaching of literature: Lessons and suggestions from the american expe |
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| Written by Sandra Stotsky | |
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To develop effective programs for civic education in the schools today,
educators must confront in some countries a deepening hostility to the
inculcation of a national, or civic, identity in any form. Much of
this hostility emanates from those who espouse something called
"cultural democracy," or what has recently been called "illiberal
multiculturalism." This form of multiculturalism may be described as
an effort to "close young people off into identities already ascribed
to them" and to make them think that they bear no personal
responsibility for their thinking or behavior because -so the illiberal
multiculturalist claims-both are determined by their "culture" or their
"race, ethnicity, or gender." In drawing on the various academic
disciplines in the school curriculum, civic educators have tended to
overlook literary study for its potential contribution to civic
education, both to strengthen it and to address these anti-civic
forces. The ultimate purpose of this essay is to show how the construction of literature curricula and the study of literature can contribute to these goals. In this essay, I describe the anti-civic forces now at work in literature programs in American schools and explain why these forces exist. I then suggest how literature programs can honor the essence of literary study (that is, the teaching of literature as literature) and at the same time strengthen the underpinnings of a constitutional democracy centered on individual rights and a concept of personal responsibility as well as combat the anti-civic forces emanating from illiberal multiculturalism. Although I will of necessity use examples from chiefly American and British literature to illustrate my suggestions, civic educators in other countries can draw on the literature of their own countries as support for civic education and to combat these anti-civic forces provided they are clear about what they are trying to accomplish. Sandra Stotsky Key Words: Literature, Citizenship Education, Multiculruralism. |
