Looking Outward: Villemain’s International Perspective at the 1965 Penn State Seminar

In this essay, we analyze Francis T. Villemain’s statement, given near the end of the 1965 Penn State Seminar, where he pointed out the need to think about research and curriculum development in art education from an international perspective. We look at Villemain’s brief statement through the lenses of postcolonial theories, delving into his philosophy of education, life, and professional history for clues on his motivations for proposing an international perspective at the seminar. We analyze Villemain’s advocacy for exporting democracy and aesthetic excellence to underdeveloped areas of the world in relation to a larger fabric of ideas that permeated the intellectual milieu during the Cold War. This essay points to the need for more critical analysis of international perspectives in art education.