Attempts to explore the epistemological dimensions of postmodernism. Develops a less problematic post-postmodern perspective, influenced by Wittgenstein. Notes how this perspective is consistent with theory and practice in adult and continuing education. (SK)

Postmodernists' denials of the existence of objective truth are made without supporting evidence and fail to account for semantic structures and linguistic usage. Analysis of semantic structure reveals truth embedded in language. Truth and socially constructed meaning are interrelated. (SK)

Explores the philosophical issue of the individual-society relationship through a focus on Maslow's humanistic psychology and its significant influence on adult education. Analyzes the conflicting viewpoints of Maslow and recent critics, particularly Marxist and postmodern scholars. Concludes that a humanistic perspective is possible, but…

Autobiographical accounts of two adult educators address questions of what it means to be an adult educator in an environment of individualization and reflexivity. Cultural conditions that give rise to similarities and differences in their accounts, such as postmodernism and popular culture, are identified. (SK)

Michel Serres is a provocative and unorthodox thinker, very little known in the English-speaking world, although he is one of the best-known contemporary French philosophers. Serres' interdisciplinary writing constructs themes that can be traced across literature, philosophy, science, mythology and painting, borrowing ideas and approaches from…

This paper discusses the phenomena of performativity and aestheticization and their implications for education. The forces of performativity pose a threat to music and the other arts, even though some advocators try to justify music education by appealing to their alleged performative results. At first sight, aestheticization seems to accord much…

Postmodernism has established a significant hold in educational thought and some of the most important ideas are to be found in the writings of Michael Peters. This paper examines his postmodern stance and use of Lyotard's account of knowledge, and from a naturalist point of view raises a number of objections centred on science as a metanarrative,…

This paper offers an introduction to the philosophy and science of embodied learning, conceived as both the stabilizing and expansionary process that sustains order and novelty within learners' worlds enacted through observing and describing. Embodied learning acknowledges stability and change as the purposeful conjoined characteristics that…

This paper explores the question of the purpose of education within the context of Lyotard's framing of the postmodern condition. It points to some of the continuities and discontinuities in the framing of the current condition as postmodern and the recurrent problematics of truth-telling which is the mark of this condition. It suggests that…

Starting with Lyotard's characterisation of postmodernity as incredulity, this is related to another of his key concepts--that of "performativity". Lyotard appears to deploy performativity to characterise those technologies that bring about the optimisation of efficient performance. However, there is another sense of performativity where it is…

Artists have always had a role in imagining a more socially just, inclusive world--many have devoted their lives to realizing this possibility. In a culture ever more embedded in performance and the visual, an examination of the role of the arts in multicultural teaching for social justice is timely. This book examines and critiques approaches to…

As blended language learning environments evolve within tertiary foreign language institutions, issues of power with regards to the privileging of electronic technologies come to the fore. Blended learning, or the principled mix of online and classroom-based activities, challenges the practices of traditional CALL and face-to-face teaching within…

The research question for this paper is: How can we mobilise robust hope in the analysis of teacher education policy? Specifically, this paper asks how a robust hope framework might speak to the "Top of the Class," a report into teacher education by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education and Vocational…

This paper examines the neoconservative critique of the university and particularly the attack on multiculturalism and postmodernism that initiated the culture wars. It seeks to explain these developments by an analysis of the thought of Leo Strauss. The paper begins by providing an introduction to US neoconservatism and latest challenges to it…

The National Endowment for the Humanities funded the Rembrandt Project for the purpose of developing an online teaching resource that can provide a means for accessing Rembrandt's art and his world. The Web site for the project includes numerous links that direct teachers to American museums that hold paintings, etchings, or drawings by Rembrandt…