Abstract
The proposition of an aesthetic education was the agenda of debates in the educational field in Minas Gerais/Brazil, during the decades of 1920 and 1930, when, nationally, a pedagogical renewal was postulated. In this article, we seek the senses and meanings of this proposal, based on studies by Rancière and Eagleton, which approach the polysemy of aesthetics in modernity. We access as conceptions, prescriptions and practices that were guided by the argument of aesthetics education, present in laws and decrees related to teachings, in broader guidelines on education expressed in periodicals that debated the new pedagogical proposals, and in the propositions related to specific contents, such as drawings, corner/music and physical education. Notwithstanding the observed polysemy, we found that the meanings of aesthetic education propositions often converged on the need to modify children's habits and customs, elevate them through the education of their bodies, their senses and sensibilities, according to standards considered more beautiful, hygienic and nationalistic.
Keywords:
aesthetic education; education; pedagogical renewal; Minas Gerais