Nate,
Three cheers for you!
Now questions:
Who is this Burke fellow and what has he written?
>Burke argues for a pentad of act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose.
Wertsch offers a simplified version of what, where, who, how, and why.
A quick definition of each of these?
How does this get us past the Western insistence on an individual/society
antinomy, which seems to be almost as entrenched as the mind/body split?
Using mediated action / cultural tools as the unit of analysis.. Using
mediated action doesn't limit the study of human beings to only the
individual, but also does not ignore the individual. Agent for Wertsch can
be an individual, group, or even an entire nation. The study of the
individual and society would use the same unit of analysis, mediated action.
>Burke mentioned the danger of focusing on only one or two aspects of the
pentad and >that is exactly what Wertsch has proposed to do.
Mind in Action p. 12 Wertsch mentions, "The starting point of Burke's
dramatistic method is that it takes human action as the basic phenomenon to
be analyzed". Burke just like Wertsch gives human action a central role in
a studying of human beings. For me it is not so much the other areas of the
pentad are ignored, but rather they can only be realized through an analysis
of human/ mediated action.
Is Wertsch himself suffering from "terministic screen disorder" or is he
just afraid to stick his neck out and write about things he's not a
certified expert on? (That may be one of the root problems plaguing
transdisciplinary work - after years of all those students looking up to
you who wants to stick his foot in his mouth? Not to mention what your
"colleagues" could do to you....)
I said that is what he proposed to do, but in reading the book I feel he
addressed the other areas of the pentad to a certain extent. I'll give it a
try of translating the pentad.
Act: ? what one is studying, the activity setting
Scene: context, history
Agent: individuals, groups, and societies
Agency: cultural tools, mediated action
Purpose: motive
The pentad reminded me a lot of what Activity Theory attempts to focus on.
Do others see a connection between Activity Theory, Sociocultural Theory
etc. and Burke's pentad.
Guess I sound a little cynical.
Regards,
Rachel
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