Ruskin's Educational Ideals - Hardcover

Atwood, Sara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 140940837X ISBN 13: 9781409408376

Publisher: Routledge, 2011

Synopsis

Focusing on John Ruskin as a teacher and on his greatest educational work, Fors Clavigera, Sara Atwood examines Ruskin's varied roles in education, the development of his teaching philosophy and style, and his vision for educational reform. Atwood maintains that the letters of Fors Clavigera constitute not only a treatise on education but a dynamic educational experiment, serving to set forth Ruskin's ideas about education while simultaneously educating his readers according to those very ideas. Closely examining Ruskin's life and writings, her argument traces the development of his moral aesthetic and increasing involvement in social reform; his methods and approach as an art instructor; and his dissatisfaction with contemporary educational practice. A chapter on Ruskin's legacy takes account of his influence on late Victorian and Edwardian educators, including J. H. Whitehouse and the Bembridge School; the Ruskin colonies in Tennessee, Florida, and Georgia; and the relevance of Ruskin's ideas to ongoing educational debates about teacher pay, state/national testing, retention, and the theory of the competent child. Historically well-grounded and forcefully argued, Atwood's study is not only a valuable contribution to scholarship on Ruskin and the Victorian period but an enjoinder for us to reconsider how Ruskin's educational philosophy might be of benefit today.

About this title

About the Author:

Sara Atwood has a PhD in English literature from the Graduate Center/CUNY. She is a Companion of the Guild of St. George and her publications include essays on Fors Clavigera and Ruskin and Darwin.

Review:

'This valuable book is the first modern study to consider the question of Ruskin and education in full. Powerful, well-written, and original, it makes a valuable contribution to Ruskin, and indeed Victorian, scholarship.' Francis O'Gorman, University of Leeds, UK 'Sara Atwood has written an elegant and thoughtful book about Ruskin's contemplation, and practice, of education across his life - as a writer and teacher, and as a writer about teaching... Atwood is an invaluable guide. Absorbed by the detail of Ruskin's practice and thought, the book provides the best overview to date of the multi-faceted place of education in Ruskin's changing and sometimes contradictory mind... [This] gracefully written, sympathetic, and informed study has much to teach. It is a welcome, thoughtful, and mature addition to modern Ruskin scholarship.' Ruskin Review and Bulletin 'This is a good book. Atwood has tackled the immense amount of material in the 39 ponderous volumes of Ruskin's Collected Works edited by Cook and Wedderburn in 1908-1914, and extracted from it a sensible and detailed account of Ruskin's educational ideas and practices... This book is full of curious information and reads well...' History of Education Review 'In Ruskin's Educational Ideals, Sara Atwood has taken on the valuable task of presenting the educational philosophy of John Ruskin to a modern readership... this book provides a helpful overview of Ruskin's lifelong engagement with education, and argues movingly that Ruskin's educational philosophy still matters.' Biography '[This book is] interesting, clearly written, makes good use of primary sources and is well grounded in the current literature on Ruskin. It can undoubtedly benefit researchers of nineteenth-century English education and is extremely useful to anyone seeking to gain a better understanding of Ruskin and his educational endeavours.' History of Education 'Sara Atwood's Ruskin's Education Ideals is a thorough, persuasive and elegant exploration of Ruskin's educational theory and practice... Dr Atwood uncovers layers of meaning and association to cast fresh light on shadowy subjects so that, as Ruskin would have it, we can see more clearly.' Eighth Lamp: Ruskin Studies Today '... there is more in Ruskin's Educational Ideals than its subject's relation to state education, and Atwood has produced a fine piece of scholarship that includes every aspect of Ruskin's involvement with educational institutions and practices. She has certainly deepened our understanding of Victorian educational thought, and opened up an important space to discuss how Ruskin's ideas can help us understand school, class, work, and society.' Pedagogy, Culture and Society 'Atwood has carefully woven together the words of Ruskin and of other Ruskin scholars so that her argument can be followed easily and is clearly substantiated by evidence. The care she has taken in doing so results in a fluid, enjoyable read ... distill[s] Ruskin's vision and offers an easily digestible overview of Ruskin and education, particularly as revealed in his more epistolary and autobiographical texts. This book is a useful resource for academics interested in the history of education, of ideas, and of life writing...' Prose Studies '... written in an engaging style and makes extensive but effective use of quotations of Ruskin's texts as his writing comes alive through Atwood's pages. I would recommend the book to Ruskin enthusiasts, students and those with an interest in nineteenth-century education. The book is well produced and is a valuable addition to Ashgate's catalogue on nineteenth-century culture.' Pre-Raphaelite Society Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 140940837X
• ISBN 13: 9781409408376
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 202