Introduction

by Jerome Hausman and Bennett Reimer


The Journal of Aesthetic Education was established in 1966, with Ralph Smith as its founding editor. He has described the early years of the Journal as "a period of optimism, indeed euphoria, about prospects for the arts, culture and aesthetic education." Just think of how differently one might characterize our present time. Politically, economically, philosophically, and culturally we seem to be in a period of uncertainty and flux. Some have gone so far as to characterize our present time as being one of crisis. Prospects for the arts, culture, and aesthetic education are now being projected with a sense of guarded expectations and cautious predictions.