James V. Wertsch

Sociocultural studies of mind

Part I. Introduction James V. Wertsch, Pablo del Rio and Amelia Alvarez: Part II. Human Action: Historical and Theoretical Foundations: 1. Cultural-historical psychology and the psychological theory of activity: retrospect and prospect Vladimir P. Zinchenko 2. The need for action in sociocultural research James V. Wertsch 3. Theories of action, speech, natural language, and discourse Jean-Paul Bronckart Part III. Mediation in Action: 4. Writing and the mind David R. Olson 5. An approach to an integrated sensory-motor system in the human central brain and a subconscious computer Tadanobu Tsunoda Part IV. Sociocultural Setting, Intersubjectivity, and the Formation of the Individual: 6. Observing sociocultural activity on three planes: participatory appropriation, guided participation, apprenticeship Barbara Rogoff 7. The constitution of the subject: a persistent question Ana Luiza B. Smolka, Maria Cecilia R. Dee Goes, Angel Pino Part V. Sociocultural Settings: Design and Intervention: 8. Socio-cultural-historical psychology: some general remarks and a proposal for a new kind of cultural-genetic methodology Michael Cole 9. Tossing, praying, and thinking: the changing architectures of mind and agency Amelia Alvarez Rodriguez and Pablo del Rio Pereda.

From Social Interaction to Higher Psychological Processes. A Clarification and Application of Vygotsky’s Theory

Vygotsky’s notions of speech, language and thought have recently begun to receive more attention in the west, but some of his basic distinctions are not well understood. The first part of this paper d

The Cambridge Companion to Vygotsky

Introduction Harry Daniels, Michael Cole and James V. Wertsch Part I. Vygotsky in Context: 1. Vygotsky in context: 1900-35 Rene van der Veer 2. Vygotskys demons David Bakhurst 3. An interesting resemblance: Vygotksy, Mead and American pragmatism Anne Edwards 4. Vygotsky, Mead, and the new sociocultural studies of identity Dorothy Holland and William Lachicotte, Jr 5. Vygotsky on thinking and speaking Vera P. John-Steiner Part II. Readings of Vygotsky: 6. Terminology in L. S. Vygotskys writing Boris Meshcheryakov 7. Mediation James V. Wertsch 8. Vygotsky and culture Michael Cole and Natalia Gajdamaschko 9. Thought and word: the approaches of L. S. Vygotsky and G. G. Shpet Vladamir Zinchenko 10. The development of childrens conceptual relation to the world with focus on concept in pre-school childrens activity Mariane Hedegaard 11. Inside and outside the Zone of Proximal Development: an eco-functional reading of Vygotsky Amelia Alvarez and Pablo del Rio Part III. Applications of Vygotskys Work: 12. Pedagogy Harry Daniels 13. Sociocultural theory and education of children with special needs: from defectology to remedial pedagogy Alex Kozulin and Boris Gindis 14. Putting Vygotsky to work: the change laboratory as an application of double stimulation Yrjo Engestrom.

Beyond the Individual-Social Antinomy in Discussions of Piaget and Vygotsky

Many discussions of the difference between Vygotsky and Piaget focus on the proximal locus of development. For Piaget it is said to be in individual children, who construct knowledge through their act

Putting Vygotsky to Work: The Change Laboratory as an Application of Double Stimulation

INTRODUCTION This chapter examines Vygotskys method of double stimulation as a basis for formative interventions in the workplace. I argue that double stimulation is radically different from such intervention approaches as the design experiments currently discussed in educational research. Double stimulation is, above all, aimed at eliciting new, expansive forms of agency in subjects. In other words, double stimulation is focused on making subjects masters of their own lives. First, I will present Vygotskys double stimulation as a theoretical and methodological idea. I will then examine recent notions of “design experiments” and point out some serious limitations in these experiments. Second, I will introduce the Change Laboratory method developed in the Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research and used for ten years in formative interventions in workplaces. Third, I will discuss this method as an application and expansion of double stimulation. Fourth, I will demonstrate the practical implementation of Change Laboratory with an example from a project carried out in Finnish post offices. Fifth, I will conclude the chapter with a discussion of some methodological and theoretical implications of the Change Laboratory method for further development of Vygotskian research, especially as it is applied in the context of the workplace and organizations.

The primacy of mediated action in sociocultural studies

After a brief overview of the reasons for using “sociocultural,” as opposed to “cultural‐historical,” “sociohistorical,” or some other term, it is argued that an adequate account of the agenda for sociocultural research must be grounded in the notion of “mediated action.” Drawing on the writings of Vygotsky, Bakhtin, and others it is argued that mediated action must be understood as involving an irreducible tension between the mediational means provided by the sociocultural setting, on the one hand, and the unique, contextualized use of these means in carrying out particular concrete actions, on the other. In this view, any attempt to reduce the basic unit of analysis of mediated action to the mediational means or to the individual in isolation is misguided. It is suggested that by using mediated action as a unit of analysis the human sciences will be in a better position to address some of todays most pressing social issues.

From Social Interaction to Higher Psychological Processes

Vygotsky’s notions of speech, language and thought have recently begun to receive more attention in the west, but some of his basic distinctions are not well understood. The first part of this paper deals with some of the confusions that have arisen due to inaccurate translation and misunderstanding of Vygotsky’s general theoretical framework. The focus of this analysis is on Vygotsky’s distinction between language and speech. The second part of the paper deals with the emergence of selfregulative capacities in ontogenesis – a central theme in the work of Vygotsky and his followers. It is argued that their ideas about selfregulation can be properly understood only if we conduct a genetic analysis that goes back to the origins of self-regulation. These origins are to be found in adult-child interaction where adults provide the ‘other-regulation’ necessary for a child to carry out a task. We argue that it is by coming to function in communicative settings involving other-regulation that the child can develop self-regulative capacities. These self-regulative capacities are seen as emerging as the result of the child’s taking over the communicative and regulative responsibilities formerly carried out by the adult. One of Vygotsky’s most interesting ideas in his study of the ontogenesis of higher mental functions is what he called the ‘zone of proximal development’. He defined it as: ‘. . . the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers’ (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). He proposed this idea in his attempt to elucidate the relationship between learning and mental development. Rather than restricting his account of mental development to assessing James V. Wertsch Department of Linguistics Northwestern University Evanston, IL 60201 (USA) Fax 41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com

Vygotsky, Mead, and the New Sociocultural Studies of Identity

INTRODUCTION Identity is a key concept in many different fields including psychology, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and cultural studies. At the intersection of these fields, sociocultural research - a recent name for the interdisciplinary approach inspired by the cultural historical work of L. S. Vygotsky and others - is developing its own integrated perspective on identity. In his brief life, Vygotsky wrote down only rudimentary ideas about personality or self. Still, those he did offer, when combined with his general notions of semiotic mediation and higher-order psychological functions, formulate an important nascent understanding of identity formation and its significance for processes of social and cultural change. This chapter examines developments in relevant research and theory that have appeared, for the most part, since William Penuel and James Wertschs key 1995 article. By adopting an expanded definition of identity, we include a wide range of research, from case studies of individual identity development to analyses of the centrality of identities in mediating response to state projects and to social movements. Concepts of identity are often (although not in Penuel and Wertsch) promiscuously mingled, producing a good bit of confusion and ambiguity. Because we concentrate on the approach to identity associated with George Herbert Mead, rather than following Penuel and Wertschs focus on Erik Eriksons better-known concept, our first task is to clarify the differences between these two major conceptualizations. Those who are tempted to move directly to the review of empirical studies in the “Sociocultural Studies of Identity” section in this chapter should consider first reading the clarification that follows.

Creating a new discipline of memory studies

The multidisciplinary field of memory studies combines intellectual strands from many domains, including (but not limited to) anthropology, education, literature, history, philosophy, psychology and sociology. Our article has four parts. We first consider definitions of memory and note that the single term itself is not particularly useful. Rather, scholars must specify the type or variety of memory under investigation. Second, we consider the breadth of memory studies and briefly survey disciplines in addition to those listed above that may prove interested parties to the new field. Third, we argue that the field of memory studies is just emerging, and that its proper development will require creation of a systematic set of methodological tools (qualitative and quantitative) that may be borrowed from various social sciences and adapted to new purposes. Finally, we describe two undergraduate programs in memory studies that have been developed at Washington University in St. Louis, USA and that might be used as models for similar programs.

Collective memory: conceptual foundations and theoretical approaches.

In order to outline the conceptual landscape that frames discussions of collective memory, three oppositions are proposed: collective memory versus collective remembering; history versus collective memory; and individual memory versus collective remembering. From this perspective collective remembering is viewed as an active process that often involves contention and contestation among people rather than a static body of knowledge that they possess. Collective remembering is also viewed as privileging identity formation and contestation over the sort of objective representation of the past that is the aspiration of formal historical analysis. And finally, while collective remembering involves individual minds, it also suggests something more in the form of socially situated individuals, a claim that can usefully be formulated in terms of how members of a groups share a common set of cultural tools (e.g., narrative forms) and similar content.