This book provides an introduction to the field of curriculum and instruction development as it relates to emerging postmodern education paradigms. The book discusses such terms as "curriculum development,""postmodernism,""hermeneutics,""paradigm,""chaos theory,""poststructuralism," and "critical theory" in the context of the educational milieu of the 1990s in the United States. Readers are challenged to examine their own definitions of and the reality of the classroom connections. The book is divided into three parts with 13 chapters. Part 1, "Postmodern Curriculum Development as a Field of Study," includes: (1) "Introduction to Curriculum Development and Postmodernity"; (2) "Historical Perspectives on Curriculum as a Field of Study"; (3) "The Reconceptualization of Curriculum and Instruction"; and (4) "Postmodern Schooling, Curriculum, and the Theological Text." Part 2, "Contemporary Curriculum Development Paradigms," contains: (5) "The Hermeneutic Circle and Postmodern Community"; (6) "Race, Gender, and Ethnicity in a Multicultural Milieu"; (7) "Postmodern Philosophies in Curriculum Studies"; (8) "Curriculum for Interdependence and Ecological Sustainability"; (9) "Utopian Visions, Democracy, and the Egalitarian Ideal"; (10) "Qualitative Inquiry, Fine Arts, and the Synthetical Moment"; and (11) "Time Management and Chaos in the Finite Cosmos." Part 3, "Curriculum Development in the Postmodern Era," includes: (12) "Postmodern Education: Kaleidoscopic Sensibilities"; and (13) "A Postmodern Postscript: Proleptic Prolegomena." (EH)