Research On The American Music Education Under The Perspective Of Aesthetic Modernity

The paper focuses on the theories and practices of the music education in America on the basis of modern aesthetic judgment. After pointing out the features and the historical evolvement of the modern aesthetic judgment, the paper comes to the conclusion of the two theoretical leaps from the traditional aesthetic judgment to the modern one and from pragmatism to practicality in accordance with the historical development of American music education, revealing the tension, reflection and subjectivity of modern aesthetic judgment have been transformed from subjectivity education to inter-subjectivity education. The paper ends up with the three basic ideological connotations of American music education: The aesthetic modernity of American music education is based upon pluralistic cultures as music education must be treated with pluralistic cultural values in terms of inter-subjectivity. The mental core of the modernity of American music education is emotional experience, which not only is the precondition of music education but also meets the aesthetic requirements of modern aesthetic judgment. Practicality is the typical characteristics of the modernity of American music education.The aesthetic modernity is on the one hand, a static concept, but often a dynamic form on the other hand, showing itself in every part in American music education. Therefore, the paper scans one by one the pedagogical ideas and practical models of American music education with the theory of aesthetic modernity, including the dimensions of the aesthetic modernity, the processes and features of the development of American music education, the ideological evolution and changes in American music education, research on the aesthetic modernity historically, analysis of the current situation of American music education, the revelations to our music education and the relationships between the aesthetic modernity and American music education. The paper reconsiders the educational values of the aesthetic modernity in American music education and explains the deep inspiration to the practice of our music education.The paper covers an introduction and six chapters. The introduction tells the reasons why the author chooses the research subject of the aesthetic modernity and introduces the present situation and the theoretical background in American music education. Chapter One focuses on the critical study of the ideology of the aesthetic modernity in music education and points out the major characteristics and redemptive significance of the aesthetic modernity according to the post-modern context. Chapter Two explores the influence of the aesthetic modernity to American music education, such as the historical predicament of the subjectivity and aesthetic judgment, the rise of the inter-subjectivity in the aesthetic modernity in educational area, the relationships between the aesthetic modernity and pluralistic cultures, practicality and emotional experience. Chapter Four analyses the historical development of American music education, listing the events with historical significance and the historical characteristics of American music education, thus revealing the historical transformation from the traditional aesthetic judgment to the modern one. Chapter Five covers the teaching and practice in American music education under the aesthetic modernity, compares the idea of aesthetic modernity with the American "National Art Education Norm," reconsiders the pluralistic musical education in the practice in accordance with the "Art Education Norm" with some individual cases, summarizes the inner features "created" by the aesthetic modernity in American music education and analyses the connotations of the aesthetic modernity based on Wolfs teaching model. Chapter Five reconsiders the aesthetic modernity in American music education and releases the educational values of the pedagogical rationale of the aesthetic modernity in music education and their revelations to the music education in China.