Museums struggle to meet the educational needs of its diverse patrons. Aimed at museum educators, Multiculturalism in Art Museums Today seeks to marry museums and critical multicultural education theory. It reveals how the union of museums and critical multiculturalism yields more equitable educational practices and guides museum educators to address misrepresentation, exclusivity, accessibility and educational inequality. This contemporary text is directive; it encourages museum educators to consider the critical multicultural education theoretical framework in their day-to day functions in order to illuminate and combat the crux of museum education shortcomings. This book adopts a broad definition of multiculturalism, which names not only race and ethnicity as concerns, but also gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, age, and class. Each of the eleven main chapters is a case study or a reflective essay that provides an example of how this has been or can be done.To begin, the introductory chapter comprehensively discusses the historic and academic origins of critical multicultural education, its tenants, and key essential questions and specifically, how museum educators can utilize the theoretical tools as foci (Nieto et al, 2008). Following this four overarching chapter sections that bring attention to: *Gender and Sexuality, * Race and Ethnicity, *Economic Class, and *Age and Ability. Each section contains three to five chapters (reflective essays and case studies) which closely illustrate what critical multiculturalism looks like in museum education, as it relates to the section topic. While focusing on these various facets of identity, the authors demonstrate how museums are social systems that should offer comprehensive, diverse educational experiences not only through exhibitions but through various other avenues in which education is imparted. The authors pull from their own research and practical experiences which exemplify how museums have been and can be attentive to these areas of identity.Then, adding to the instructional role of this book, each of the four sections conclude with a section summary titled, Translations in which the editors identify and review main points of the section's chapters. The section summaries 1) recap key practices and synthesize significant ideas brought forth by the section chapter authors and 2) provide very explicit suggestions on how to further advance critical multicultural education in museums, as it relates to the section's topic. Multiculturalism in Art Museums Today is hopeful and inspiring, as it identifies and commends the positive and effective practices that some museum educators have enacted in an effort to be inclusive. Museum educators are at the front-line, interacting with publics, and therefore, can be the real avant-garde of change and modeling critical multicultural behavior and practices.

Arts educators have adopted social justice themes as part of a larger vision of transforming society. Social justice arts education confronts oppression and inequality arising from factors related to race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, class, ability, gender, and sexuality. This edition of Common Threads investigates the intersection of social justice work with education in the visual arts, music, theatre, dance, and literature. Weaving together resources from a range of University of Illinois Press journals, the editors offer articles on the scholarly inquiry, theory, and practice of social justice arts education. Selections from the past three decades reflect the synergy of the diverse scholars, educators, and artists actively engaged in such projects. Together, the contributors bring awareness to the importance of critically reflective and inclusive pedagogy in arts educational contexts. They also provide pedagogical theory and practical tools for building a social justice orientation through the arts. Contributors: Joni Boyd Acuff, Seema Bahl, Elizabeth Delacruz, Elizabeth Garber, Elizabeth Gould, Kirstin Hotelling, Tuulikki Laes, Monica Prendergast, Elizabeth Saccá, Alexandra Schulteis, Amritjit Singh, and Stephanie Springgay