online seminar - content, v. 0.9c

From: david_eddy_spicer@harvard.edu
Date: Sun Oct 06 2002 - 10:16:36 PDT


Mike,

Here's the most recent version that was on the list and includes a
suggestion by Jim in Session 1. I was looking at this as a good generic
list for those of us doing independent studies, but it seems that the
online piece of it might need to be more focused on specific works within
each session, or maybe just focus on certain sections.

Also, I believe you or someone suggested reading Lave & McDermott,
"Estranged Learning", as a frame for our object-historical,
theory-historical conversation with the texts. (I did manage to get an
inter-library loan copy of this article; the librarian had to go through
the National Lib. of Ed. in Denmark to get it!)

I'm happy to help out on the "implementation committee". November sounds
like a good target at this point.

David

----- Forwarded by David Eddy Spicer/FS/KSG on 10/06/02 01:06 PM -----
                                                                                                                                        
                      david_eddy_spicer who-is-at
                      harvard.edu To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
                                                 cc:
                      09/22/02 05:13 PM Subject: online seminar - content, v. 0.9a
                      Please respond to
                      xmca
                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                        

I took most of the following reading list from Yrjo's 1998 UCSD course,
"Comm. 261: Mediational Approaches To Culture And Mind: Foundations Of
Activity Theory"

(Prof. Yrjö Engeström, Winter 1998, University of California/San Diego,
Department of Communication:
http://www.communication.ucsd.edu/courses/syllabi/261.W98.html)

I snipped some and tucked in a few of the readings that came up from our
recent discussions (marked with "+"), and I also put in a few of my own
from the readings that interested me (marked with "="). To this untrained
eye, it seems like Sessions 1-4 are fairly solid. Sessions 5+ get into
topical areas that are probably more open to debate.

I also went back to the archives to read the thread that Elina started
around "kernels of meaning" and this course. This came just before I joined
the list, and I found it very helpful in trying to understand the broader
intent of the course.

Elina wrote on 11-Aug-02: "I am always in between two radically different
approaches to building the bridges of understanding: the first assumes that
there are "true meaning" of some original ideas of CHAT and one has to
reconstruct the origins of these ideas before we can go any further ...;
the second is radically different, it is built on the assumption that there
is no possibility to reconstruct universal truth and the "kernel of
meaning" is in the constant negotiation of present contexts and meanings,
practices and research findings."
http://lchc.ucsd.edu/MCA/Mail/xmcamail.2002_08.dir/0061.html

I like that as a reminder to keep that tension alive in thinking about
texts & contexts, that is how we & the tools we use structure our
interactions in this seminar.

I'm happy to share my independent study write-up with other graduate
students who might be interested. It uses this as a base but then goes off
to focus on my particular interests.

David

===============================

DRAFT
Foundations of Activity Theory
*** Session 0 ***
Estranged Learning

Lave, Jean & Ray McDermott, "Estranged Learning"

*** Session 1 ***
Revolutionary roots: Marx

Readings:
Marx, K. (1844). Alienated Labour and Private Property and Communism. From
The Economico-Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844.

Marx, K. (1845/1888). Theses on Feuerbach

Marx, K. (1867). Capital (chapters 1.1; 1.2; 7.1; 7.2; 13, 14, 15.1; and
15.4)

{Jim wrote} I would suggest adding M. Elhammouni's chapter: "Lost- or
merely
domesticated? The boom in socio-historicocultural theory emphasizes
some concepts, overlooks others" in S. Chaiklin The Theory and Practice
of Cultural-Historical Psychology (2000).

In this chapter he makes a good argument (IMO) for the importance of
reclaiming dialectal materialism in current CHAT research. I think it
would frame the Marx readings nicely.

*** Session 2 ***
Philosophical roots: dialectics

Readings:
Il'enkov, E. V. (1977). The Concept of the Ideal. From Philosophy in the
USSR: Problems of Dialectical Materialism.

Il'enkov, E. V. (1977). Dialectical Logic (chapters 10 and 11)

=Il'enkov, E. V. (1982). The dialectics of the abstract and the concrete in
Marx's 'Capital'. Moscow: Progress.

*** Session 3 ***
The first generation of CHAT: Vygotsky and the idea of mediation

Readings:
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society (chapters 1 through 6)

+Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and Languange. (chapter selection?)

Davydov, V. V. & Radzikhovskii, L. A. (1985). Vygotsky's Theory and the
Activity-Oriented Approach in Psychology. From Culture, Communication and
Cognition, edited by J. V. Wertsch

Scribner, S. (1985). Vygotsky's Uses of History. From Culture,
Communication and Cognition, edited by J. V. Wertsch

*** Session 4 ***
The second generation of CHAT: Leont'ev and the concept of activity

Readings:
Leont'ev, A. N. (1981). Problems of the Development of the Mind (part II,
pages 156-326)

Leont'ev, A. N. (1978). Activity, Consciousness and Personality (chapters 3
and 4)

*** Session 5 ***
Epistemology and learning [=not quite sure about this...]

Readings:
Davydov, V. V. (1990). Types of Generalization in Instruction (chapter 7)

+Wells, G. & Guy Claxton (2002). Learning for life in the 21st century:
Sociocultural perspectives on the future of education.

*** Session 6 ***
CHAT and cultural psychology

Readings:
=Luria, A. R. (1982). Cognitive Development. (chapter selection?)

Cole, M. (1996). Cultural Psychology (chapters 5 and 6)

*** Session 7 ***
Theory as practice: The collective-institutional challenge

Readings:
Engeström, Y. (1987). Learning by Expanding (chapter 2 from page 29 to page
91; all of chapter 3)

(maybe Lincoln & Guba, Kemmis & McTaggert here?)

*** Mentioned on XMCA: ***

Luria, A. R. (1976). Working Brain. (chapter selection? which session?)

Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E. G. (2000). Paradigmatic controversies,
contradictions, and emerging confluences. In K.D. Norman & Y.S. Lincoln
(Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed.) (163-188). Thousand
Oaks: Sage.

McTaggert & Kemmis on Participatory Action Research.



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