<$BlogItemTitle$> <$BlogItemTitle$>Broadcasters of Tomorrow

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Art Teacher's Dilemma

I was speaking with art teacher at a major university here in the UAE. She wants to expose her Emirati students to the basics of art history; the students have a curious nature and desire to learn. But the art teacher is reluctant to show imagery in the classics that could be deemed "inappropriate," specifically images of nudity.
This dilemma never really goes away here and, unfortunately, in most cases, self censorship rules. This happens because in many academic settings here there are no formal "rules." Self censorship can be more detrimental to teaching as people tend to err on the side of precaution. The teacher also wants to take the students on a road trip to Italy and France. The teacher said that most of her female Emirati students would not be permitted to take a trip, without family, for this purpose.
This was a timely discussion given the controversy about NYU's plans to open a complete liberal-arts university Abu Dhabi.