Today there is new interest in renewing a society's general acquaintance with and appreciation of the arts and humanities as vital to life, education, and the conduct of human affairs. The 12 essays in this collection have a variety of critical looks at the arts and humanities and the role they play in postmodern schooling. This diverse collection has been developed to shed light on emerging issues in the education dialogue on the arts and humanities and their place in education, and to stimulate further thought about the contexts and characteristics of postmodernism and how they may be understood in the shaping of basic school curricula. Following an introduction, the essays are as follows: (1) "The Arts and Humanities in Postmodern Education" (David Elkind); (2) "Contradictions and Consequences in Postmodernism" (Michael J. Schmoker); (3) "The Necessary Role of the Arts in Education and Society" (Eric Oddleifson); (4) "Generating Hope through Arts Education" (Julia Balaisis); (5) "Postmodernity, Humanity, and Art" (D. C. Bradburd); (6) "The Power of the Arts to Edify" (Russell T. Osguthorpe); (7) "Lights in the Trees" (Stephanie B. Perrin); (8) "Adult Literacy and the American Political Culture" (George Demetrion); (9) "A Postmodern Feminist Perspective on Visual Arts in Elementary Teacher Education" (Christine B. Morris; Iris M. Striedieck); (10) "The Family Myth in the Postmodern Humanities Curriculum" (Donovan R. Walling); (11) "Resolving the Paradox of Postmodern Education" (Raymond Pettit); and (12) "Envisioning the Future of Education" (Todd Siler). (BT)