Reorienting the gaze : looking beyond anthropocentrism in art education

Abstract

The contemporary issues affecting our planet including ethical questions and injustice amongst humans and non-humans as well as non-human animals, are major concerns for art education. As many scholars claim, art education allows us to express, discuss, unfold and challenge certain ideologies (Blandy, 2011; Illeris, 2015). This dissertation critically examines humanistic ethics and its exclusion of non-human animals, resulting in a longstanding separation between human and non-human considerations (Kallio-Tavin, 2020). The study aims to explore the impact of this ideology on the human to non-human animal relationship in our contemporary world and seeks to dismantle straightforward distinctions between the human and the non-human. By engaging with the works of philosophers such as Jacques Derrida and incorporating perspectives from posthumanism, contemporary art, and critical animal studies, this dissertation addresses the need for an ethical framework in education beyond anthropocentrism. In order to gain an understanding from art and education for sustainable development (ESD) educators, about their perceptions on anthropocentrism, their institution’s training practices and their ability to guide students in thinking beyond anthropocentrism, a qualitative research method including four interviews with art educators and a focus group with three ESD educators and the education officer (EO) will be conducted. This study will then provide a set of ten lesson plans aimed at guiding secondary school art educators to develop and deepen the students’ understanding of the human and non-human relationship and foster compassion and empathy in a world where subjection of other species is an everyday norm.