The Work of Art in the World: Civic Agency and Public Humanities

by Doris Sommer

Celebrating art and interpretation that take on social challenges, Doris Sommer steers the humanities back to engagement with the world. The reformist projects that focus her attention develop momentum and meaning as they circulate through society to inspire faith in the possible. Among the cases that she covers are top-down initiatives of political leaders, such as those launched by Antanas Mockus, former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, and also bottom-up movements like the Theatre of the Oppressed created by the Brazilian director, writer, and educator Augusto Boal. Alleging that we are all cultural agents, Sommer also takes herself to task and creates Pre-Texts, an international arts-literacy project that translates high literary theory through popular creative practices. The Work of Art in the World is informed by many writers and theorists. Foremost among them is the eighteenth-century German poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller, who remains an eloquent defender of art-making and humanistic interpretation in the construction of political freedom. Schiller's thinking runs throughout Sommer's modern-day call for citizens to collaborate in the endless co-creation of a more just and more beautiful world.

Genres: Art, Cultural Studies, Cultural, Academic, Nonfiction, Humanities

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Doris Sommer is the Ira and Jewell Williams Jr. Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, where she is Founder and Director of Cultural Agents: Arts and Humanities in Civic Engagement. She is the author of The Work of Art in the World: Civic Agency and Public Humanities, Bilingual Aesthetics: A New Sentimental Education and editor of Cultural Agency in the Americas.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book examines art projects that have provoked institutional innovation and change. Inspired by Friedrich Schiller, it explores what art-for-everyone can do for democracy. It argues that, unlike scientific reasoning or moral reasoning, aesthetic judgment (deciding if something is beautiful) doesn’t require following any rules or established principles. It is therefore available to everyone, regardless of erudition or social standing. It is the great leveler (87). I don’t necessarily recommend this book unless you are really into public art or Harvard. The author is a professor at Harvard and several projects were initiated at Harvard and then implemented elsewhere: the self-congratulatory tone can be slightly off-putting.

[Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is it about the academic corridor over there in Boston? Every recent book I've read about teaching or learning by an author from the area spends an inordinate amount of time in self-congratulation and self-promotion. Maybe I was put off by the mode of writing, a special kind of wannabe hip pleading that some academics trying to slouch toward a general readership try on—but this is published by Duke University. The only folks likely to shell out shekels for this are fellow academics looking for another life preserver for their attacked humanities programs. Some of the gurus name-checked in the acknowledgements were my own mentors in grad school, so perhaps this is the way the world is turning. Others' mileage will surely vary, but I could have done with a great deal less of the enervated, fizzy, pun-laded prose and a great deal more straightforward reportage of the strategies partisans from the global south have brought to bear on the problem of the death of humanities, several of which strategies get the fairy dust of Harvard promotion and east coast funding. Bully for them. My biggest takeaways were a couple of teaching ideas that managed to sneak through and a renewed interest in Schiller's Letters on Aesthetic Education. The bibliography bids fair to offer some interesting clues for perhaps more helpful reading.

[KatzeKet · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I usually talk about art and the humanities to folks, I get this reaction of disapproval, like the two fields are in a little bubble seemingly detached from the world and pretty useless. Of course, this reaction is not new, and something that even professionals have to deal with.

What The Work of Art in the World provides is a exploration into how arts projects and the humanities interact actively with the world, and how a focus on aesthetics can actually be fruitful. Furthermore, taking ideas from Schiller, Freire, and Dewey, Sommer brings into focus the power of aesthetics within civic life, rippling into institutions and practices.

We see these things through a variety of case studies; the tactics of Bogota Mayor Antanas Mockus, the work of Augusto Boal, the artistic and literary movement of Cartonera, all of these showcases how we can reconsider the power of the arts, humanities and aesthetics.

[Eris Garza · Rating 2 out of 5]

La autora trata el arte como una tirita que se puede poner en la sociedad para "mejorarla". Dejando a un lado lo anticomunista que es el libro (a pesar de que a la vez que alaba a Gramsci), tratar el arte como algo que tiene que ser útil, que tiene que servir a mejorar el sistema capitalista, es caer en las dinámicas liberales. Este libro es una legitimación del arte como parte del capitalismo y tremendamente antirrevolucionario.

A parte, por quedarme con algo positivo, proporciona muy buenos resúmenes, por ejemplo de la historia de la estética o del pensamiento e influencia de Schiller. Esas son partes a las que volveré para releer seguro.

[Peaches · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that Sommer highlighted the importance of education as experience and how the arts can facilitate learning in different ways than traditional methods; however, most of her examples are about viewing types of art. I'm cool with an author fan girling over Hamlet, but Dewey especially would be wondering why students aren't making their own too.

[Nina Shevchuk-Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book for any arts professional. Dr. Sommer provides both empirical, case-study evidence and solid philosophical grounding for the unique and transformative role arts can play in public life. This should be required reading for any practitioners of cultural diplomacy.

[Literatura Todos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book showcase the power of cultural projects as societal changemakers.

[Kevin Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author gathers some wonderful examples and provides a very informative text about public art. But sometimes she seems a little too uncritical about the role of art. It reads like she is a professional promoter of creative practice in the academy.

[Megan Yaek · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a world that appreciates money over beauty, Sommer illustrates the power of aesthetics. A little bit of creativity and teamwork can change a whole city's mindset.