[Xmca-l] Re: vygotsky's theory and symbolic interactionism

[Charles Bazerman]

Not so much culture as society, through interaction and coming to understand oneself as a communicative being.  As far as I know he has no explicit discussion about tools or other definitions of culture (but others more widely read in Mead might correct this). Nonetheless, he understands the culturally available and inherited  language as a tool for interacting with others (and thus entering into the world of socially shared symbols) and then as a symbol for reflection and understanding oneself and one's relation to others. Thus we are formed and form ourselves as social creatures (or we might also say as actors in a encultured society).  But of course the last few sentences are my own reconstruction.  

This is what I wrote in a less off-the-cuff way:

"Mead’s recognition of the role of language processes in the formation of the socialized self and the mind, however, clearly sets him apart from the Scottish Moralists or Marx, and puts him nearer to Vygotsky. Mead sees the mind formed in learning to make meaning with and for others, as one sees the effects of communications on others. For both Mead and Vygotsky, though in slightly different ways, self and mind are products of language use in society. For Vygotsky and Mead, speech is a form of act, not a disembodied meaning or truth, but always formulated in action, as part of action, and therefore acting in the world. Thus the meanings we develop in interaction and the thoughts we ponder are saturated with the shades of prior action and the anticipations of new actions. The formulas of unconsidered, unproblematic, habitual utterances are part of those activities we think we know so well that we don’t have to think about or contemplate—all we need to do is produce the prefab
ricated words that carry out the old solution (though we may well find ourselves wrong, or we might do better if we stopped to think afresh). Thoughtful speech—the words that make us think or that we feel we need to think about before we speak—is a creative action prompted by a perceived unresolved problem to which we are responding (Blasi, 1998, p. 167; Mead, 1934). "

Hope this helps.
Chuck

----- Original Message -----
From: mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>
Date: Monday, March 31, 2014 8:16 pm
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: vygotsky's theory and symbolic interactionism
To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>

> Chuck-- So how does culture figure into Mead's ideas?
> 
> mike
> 
> 
> On Mon, Mar 31, 2014 at 7:57 PM, Charles Bazerman <
> bazerman@education.ucsb.edu> wrote:
> 
> > My  recent book A THEORY OF LITERATE ACTION relies heavily on 
> Vygotsky and
> > friends (see chapters 2 & 3), then discusses Mead, symbolic interactionism
> > and other pragmatists in Chapter 5, showing how they articulate and
> > contrast with other traditions, including some specific comparisons 
> with
> > LSV. The book is downloadable at
> > http://wac.colostate.edu/books/literateaction/v2/
> > Chuck
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com>
> > Date: Monday, March 31, 2014 7:32 pm
> > Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: vygotsky's theory and symbolic interactionism
> > To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> >
> > > Paul
> > > Jack Martin at Simon Fraser University has referenced Anna Stetsenko
> > > in his
> > > most recent article's exploring Mead's work.  Anna Stetsenko has also
> > > written contrasting pragmatism's focus on interactionism with  her
> > reading
> > > of Vygotsky as emphasizing *transformative* cultural historical
> > mediations.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Mon, Mar 31, 2014 at 1:09 PM, Dr. Paul C. Mocombe <
> > > pmocombe@mocombeian.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > > I am working on a paper comparing and contrasting george herbert 
> mead's
> > > > symbolic interactionism with
> > > > vygotsky's theory....any suggestions anyone?
> > > >
> > > > Dr. Paul C. Mocombe
> > > > President
> > > > The Mocombeian Foundation, Inc.
> > > > www.mocombeian.com
> > > > www.readingroomcurriculum.com
> > > > www.paulcmocombe.info
> > > >
> > > > Race and Class Distinctions within Black Communities
> > > > www.routledge.com/9780415714372
> >