[Xmca-l] Re: Genetics, internalization, biology, and Vygotsky

[Robert Lake]

Dear Paul,
While I cannot address the theocratic aspect of vital question, I do not
believe that democracy is only for Eurocentric societies but where ever it
is a viable reality, it must come from within. Dewey was certainly
thinking  about this when he said that "*democracy must be born anew in
every generation, and education is its midwife*".  One has only to remember
Gandhi's work (By they way, could the cottage industry movement he spawned
be considered an aspect of CHAT work with the spinning wheel as an artefact
and the movement itself a ZPD with many interlocking circles?) There are
many points of convergence between between Vygotsky's work of higher
consciousness and Freire's notion of  conscientização. I know you are aware
of Freire's connection to Cabral  and the work of adult literacy in Guinea
Bissau, West Africa.
I do not have time for anything more but you might want read this short
book review in light of your powerful questions.

http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_sc/freire/vr.html

*Robert*

On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 5:37 AM, Dr. Paul C. Mocombe <
pmocombe@mocombeian.com> wrote:
>
> I have an important question for vygotsky scholars...According to the
> haitian sociologist, Daniel Supplice, as people of African descent, whose
> societies and governments have been based on theocracy prior to their
> contacts with Europeans, democracy is not for haitians.  He argues that as
> haitians and people of african descent, we have to reconsider how we
> constitute our societies, and stop adopting the ideologies and practices of
> whites, which are aligned with their biology and experiences of the world.
>
> This debate is not new.  There is an argument in afrocentric circles,
> which highlight the impact that melanin has in making people of color
> religious and determining their worldview.  So that in the internalization
> of social processes by blacks melanin is a determing factor in constituting
> their worldview.  Is this the sought of biological/genetic factor that
> Vygotsky scholars are taking into account when they speak of the
> internalization process?
>
> I am aware of the fact that alcohol and certain high blood pressure
> medications adversely affect people of african descent because of melanin.
> Should we look at the internalization of social processes along the same
> lines as the ingestion of medicine and alcohol?  Is this Vygotskyian or
> more in line with Kantian form of understanding and sensibilities as it
> applies to people of african descent?
>
> Dr. Paul C. Mocombe
> President
> The Mocombeian Foundation, Inc.
> www.mocombeian.com
> www.readingroomcurriculum.com
> www.paulcmocombe.info



-- 

*Robert Lake  Ed.D.*Associate Professor
Social Foundations of Education
Dept. of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading
Georgia Southern University
Secretary/Treasurer-AERA- Paulo Freire Special Interest Group
P. O. Box 8144
Phone: (912) 478-0355
Fax: (912) 478-5382
Statesboro, GA  30460