[Xmca-l] Re: AERA Session: Being/Becoming an Activist Scholar: Lessons From Cultural-Historical Activity Research

Sat Mar 31 20:51:56 PDT 2018

Francine:

First of all, we are all useful idiots. Just for example, Bezemenov was a
"useful idiot" for the John Birchers. And John Birch himself was a "useful
idiot".

Secondly, the Larry Kohlberg studies were rightly criticized at book length
by Carol Gilligan (and at somewhat shorter length by Yongho Kim and myself
in "Rocks and a Hard Place", in Language and Education in 2015.

Thirdly, one of the things that makes people activists, as opposed to
amateur news therapists, is that we focus on the desirability of outcomes
and not just motives. If the study of morality over history tells us
anything, it is that only bad outcomes ever come from pure
motives. Progress, like development, is always complexly motivated.

David Kellogg
Sangmyung University

Recent Article in *Early Years*

The question of questions: Hasan’s critiques, Vygotsky’s crises, and the
child’s first interrogatives
<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09575146.2018.1431874>

Free e-print available at:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/6EeWMigjFARavQjDJjcW/full

On Sun, Apr 1, 2018 at 12:29 PM, Larry Smolucha <lsmolucha@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> message from Francine:
>
>
> Here are some points for activist/scholars to consider regarding the 1984
> interview with Soviet KGB defector Yuri Berzmenov.
>
>
>
> Here's the link (again):
>
> https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ
>
> [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K4kHiUAjTvQ/hqdefault.jpg]<htt
> ps://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
>
> Yuri Bezmenov - KGB Defector on "Useful Idiots" and the True Face of
> Communism<https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> youtu.be
> The USA is at this moment a destabilized nation on the way to crisis. In
> this interview from 1984, Yuri Bezmenov articulates the method.
>
>
>
> Just for starters,
>
>
>   1.  Yuir Bezmenov provides a working model for destabilizing a nation
> involving processes such as demoralization, abandonment of rational
> discourse, instigating crises, and normalization under the new social order.
>   2.   This interview is from 1984 so it is also old news of Russian
> "interference."
>   3.   Apparently, there is no actual citation from Lenin of his having
> used the term "useful idiots' to describe the manipulation of unwitting
> traumatized people by someone with ulterior motives. The recently
> traumatized high school student March for Life activists are vulnerable to
> such manipulation.  No one knows whether the movement will fizzle out out
> or even produce voters on election day. Certainly a few student activists
> might have found their calling.
>
>
> The nerve of me posting something like this that interrupts what could
> have been a seamless narrative on XMCA.  But as scholars, this is an
> interesting opportunity to study this (and learn) from this social
> phenomenon (March for Lives). I remember (years ago) Dr. Jack Getzels at
> the University of Chicago talking about a study of student activists in the
> 1960's that found some of the most committed student leaders scored at the
> highest level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development but just as many
> were anarchists at the lowest level. Are activist/ scholars or
> activist/teachers all of one type?
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> on behalf of mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>
> Sent: Friday, March 30, 2018 6:45 PM
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: AERA Session: Being/Becoming an Activist Scholar:
> Lessons From Cultural-Historical Activity Research
>
> Hi Francine-
>
> What sort of lesson would you like us to take from Mr. Bezmenov's
> interviews?
>
> mike
>
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 30, 2018 at 10:21 AM, Larry Smolucha <lsmolucha@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Message from Francine Smolucha:
> >
> >
> > This link has an interview that would be of interest to
> activist./scholars
> >
> >
> > https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ
> [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K4kHiUAjTvQ/hqdefault.jpg]<htt
> ps://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
>
> Yuri Bezmenov - KGB Defector on "Useful Idiots" and the True Face of
> Communism<https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> youtu.be
> The USA is at this moment a destabilized nation on the way to crisis. In
> this interview from 1984, Yuri Bezmenov articulates the method.
>
>
> >
> > [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K4kHiUAjTvQ/hqdefault.jpg]<htt
> > ps://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> >
> > Yuri Bezmenov - KGB Defector on "Useful Idiots" and the True Face of
> > Communism<https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> > youtu.be
> > The USA is at this moment a destabilized nation on the way to crisis. In
> > this interview from 1984, Yuri Bezmenov articulates the method.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> > on behalf of Carrie Lobman <carrie.lobman@gse.rutgers.edu>
> > Sent: Friday, March 30, 2018 9:33 AM
> > To: xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu
> > Subject: [Xmca-l] AERA Session: Being/Becoming an Activist Scholar:
> > Lessons From Cultural-Historical Activity Research
> >
> > Hello XMCAers,
> >
> >
> > I am very pleased to be chairing this timely and important session at
> AERA
> > in a few weeks (Monday April 16). The idea for Being/Becoming an
> > Activist-Scholar <http://tinyurl.com/ybdkh6kw> was born at last years
> > conference in San Antonio where I felt a shift as more and more people,
> > particularly graduate students, were identifying as activist scholars or
> > were seeking to engage in activism. I believe as socio-cultural and
> > activitists we have much to offer this conversation and a responsibility
> to
> > lead and teach.
> > What Is a 21st-Century Activist Scholar to Do?<http://tinyurl.com/
> ybdkh6kw
> > >
> > tinyurl.com
> > To the naïve mind revolution and history seem incompatible. It believes
> > that historical development continues as long as it follows a straight
> > line. When a change comes, a break in the historical fabric, a leap—then
> > this naïve mind sees only catastrophe, a fall, a rupture; for the naïve
> > mind history ends until back again straight and narrow. The scientific
> mind
> > on the contrary, views revolution as the locomotive of history, forging
> > ahead at full speed; it regards the revolutionary epoch as the tangible,
> > living embodiment of history. A revolution solves only those tasks which
> > have been raised by history; this proposition holds equally true for
> > revolution in general and for aspects of social and cultural life.
> > (Vygotsky as quoted in Leviathan, 1982). Socio-cultural theory was born
> of
> > activism. It emerged in the early, most improvisational moments of the
> > Russian Revolution, and one of its continuing provocations is that it
> does
> > not claim to be objective or apolitical. Vygotsky and his followers
> located
> > thei
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > I was thrilled that Kris Guitierrez, Lois Holzman, and Anna Stetsenko
> > agreed to be our featured speakers as they each bring a long history of
> > rigorous scholarship and activism but from with different frameworks,
> > activities and communities. These three presentations will jumpstart a
> > conversation with an invited panel of emerging and established scholar
> > activists who will collectively interview and respond to the
> presentations
> > and lead a discussion with the audience.
> >
> >
> > Please get the word out as widely as possible.
> >
> >
> > http://tinyurl.com/y7zguva7
> >
> >
> > Carrie
> >
> >
> > Carrie Lobman, Ed.D.
> >
> > Chair, Department of Learning and Teaching
> >
> > Graduate School of Education
> >
> > Rutgers University
> >
> > www.gse.rutgers.edu<http://www.gse.rutgers.edu>
> >
> > www.eastsideinstitute.org<http://www.eastsideinstitute.org<h<http://www.
> eastsideinstitute.org<http://www.eastsideinstitute.org<h>
> > ttp://www.eastsideinstitute.org<http://www.eastsideinstitute.org>>
> >
> > www.performingtheworld.org<http://www.performingtheworld.org<http://www<
> http://www.performingtheworld.org<http://www.performingtheworld.org<htt
> p://www>.
> > performingtheworld.org<http://www.performingtheworld.org>>
> >
> >
> >
>