Henry Giroux and the Arts

Abstract

Henry A. Giroux is well known for pushing the definitions of education. From his early forays into what has been termed the 'New Sociology of Education' in the early 1980s to his more recent discussions of 'public pedagogy', Giroux has methodically challenged existing orthodoxies. This essay will focus on the interdisciplinary broadening of Giroux 's work in the early 1990s, especially his scholarship on the arts as it reflects the inclusive thinking that subsequently drove his contributions to critical theory, cultural studies, media, and radical democracy, as well as the field of education. In a period fraught with controversies over the role of teachers and artists in public life, Giroux forged new connections between these two embattled groups. Advancing the common figure of the 'cultural worker' as a facilitator of change, Giroux argued for 'Artists as Teachers' and 'Teachers as Artists'. This work inspired many in the arts and education, especially those with activist leanings, to see beyond definitions and conventions that had confined or isolated their efforts.