Describes the work of Harry S. Broudy and his impact on public education in the United States. Maintains that Broudy believed that universal values can be grounded in human nature. Presents Broudy's view that students in secondary grades should study the arts and humanities to acquire the values necessary for participatory citizenship. (CFR)

In the words of Ralph A. Smith, "We can now discern the outlines of the problem: how to acquaint students with the aesthetic form of life in a manner that is not only ethically acceptable but also theoretically justifiable and pedagogically promising." This essay interrogates conventional assumptions about applications of art history in…