[Xmca-l] Re: ISCAR experiences, reflections, etc

[Rod Parker-Rees]

Dear Alfredo,

I am sorry I did not get the opportunity to meet you at ISCAR.

The highlight of the conference for me was the opportunity to explore a wide range of different perspectives on key aspects of cultural-historical research. The first meeting of the round-table discussion group focusing on perezhivanie was well attended and somewhat chaotic, as a lot of people set out their own understanding of the significance of this concept. Here there was only time for an initial presentation of positions - and the beginnings of exploration of disagreements but the topic was also addressed in many paper presentations and the second and third round-table meetings were smaller, allowing more extensive discussion, which I thought was particularly valuable in clarifying why perezhivanie is such a useful (and flexible) concept.

Discussions at the conference illustrated the tensions between those who seek to defend a core, 'true' meaning (through careful historical analysis of documents and arguments) and those who want to loosen the boundaries of what 'counts' as perezhivanie so that the concept can be used in new ways and in new contexts. Having the opportunity to take conversations forward beyond initial disagreement helped me to see the 'agreed' meaning (znachenie) of perezhivanie as a fluid, dynamic product of continuing interactions - both influencing and influenced by the particular refractions of individual interpretations (smysl). Our 'own' understanding is immeasurably enriched by opportunities to encounter and engage with other people's perspectives - not just what they think and know but also what they care about! My understanding of the writing of Fernando Gonzalez Rey, Anna Stetsenko, Barbara Rogoff, Nikolai Veresov and many others will be informed by what I have learned from seeing how they present their own understandings but also, in different but equally important ways, from seeing how they engage with other people and with other people's ideas.

All the best,

Rod




-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Alfredo Jornet Gil
Sent: 02 September 2017 19:36
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
Subject: [Xmca-l] ISCAR experiences, reflections, etc

Dear all,


I am still at Tampere, where the EARLI conference finished today, just one day after ISCAR ended. Unfortunately, I committed to attending both conferences and could only be the first days in Quebec. Still, I was fortunate enough to catch up with many colleagues, to share some of my work, and get to hear about that of many others that are doing great things around the globe.


One (not so) surprising discovery I made was the huge amount of people that actually lurks into this list, but who nonetheless very seldom if ever write (whether for lack of time to delve into the sometimes quite long posts/themes, or simply because they prefer to read than write). We all knew and had talked about this, but it was quite remarkable the amount of people I met (not only in ISCAR, but also here in Europe (EARLI).


So, now that I have met some of you, and that you have got to see and hear more of ISCAR than those of us who had to leave earlier or could not join at all. What was your highlight of the congress and why? It would be lovely if some of you would take a step forward and tell us a bit of what you found most interesting, what you found was missing, what you found should have not been.


In can be the first: One of my favourite moments was listening to Fernando G. Rey present without slides or any other device, passionately talking about child development and claiming, "... for the first need of the child is that of contact with other people"... I also very much enjoyed seeing Mike in a several meters wide screen commenting on Engeström's Keynote, rising the longest ovation I got to hear during my brief three days in Quebec.


These are just anecdotes, but I would love if you could tell us more on how it went for you, what you found there, for us who could not be there. I think it would be very much appreciated by many, while we get the time to have a look at the issue on unit analysis, and prepare the discussion on the article from the last (third) MCA issue.


Alfredo
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