The purpose value and significance of the arts are perennial topics often generating rather
heated discussions. In the modern era a philosophical perspective took hold in accord with the
idea that art was separated from daily life as well as from larger social contexts. This book
argues for a perspective in which the arts are integrated with our daily lives even as they
affect social political and educational realities and our understanding of those realities.
A central theme of this book is that aesthetic experiences and forms of popular culture in
particular can and often do affect the way we see interpret and make sense of our worlds as
well as assist in the creation of a more just invigorating and humane society.
