I think Vygotsky was very clearly situated in modernism, but also has been interpreted creatively into a postmodern context. In addition to Holzman, I think Dot Robbins has done some creative work in this area.
Particularly in early childhood education, Vygotsky has been interpreted post modernly. I think "Deconstructing Early Childhood Education" uses Vygotsky constantly in her critique. Beth Graue in her book on research interprets Leont'ev, Vygotsky and Mike Cole post modernly. Much as this is because in early childhood there is a strong biological / individual focus. Vygotsky becomes attractive because he un-naturalizes processes like development.
But overall, I think he clearly falls in the modernist camp. Most of his work was in very concrete activity settings, education, defectology etc.
lobman@rci.rutgers.edu wrote:
Hi,
Several weeks ago, in response to a thread about the arts in teacher
education, I talked about a professional development project I had
created where early childhood teachers received training in
improvisation. I was invited to write a chapter on this project for a
book titled "Putting Postmodern Theories into Practice". The book
focuses on the use of postmodern theories in early childhood education
and teacher education.
One of the questions that has come up in my dialogues with the editors
is that they have trouble seeing/understanding Vygotsky as a postmodern
theorist. I am aware that postmodernism means different things to
different people and I am working on how to articulate how I see the
seeds of postmodernism in Vygotsky's writing. He obviously wrote in
modernist terms, but the search for method, the dialectics of tool and
result, process/product; his focus on activity; the social construction
of learning and development, performing… all of this seems to be ahead
of his time and to have much to offer the postmodern challenge to truth,
reality, dualism and the need for new ways of understanding and seeing
the world and human life.
This understanding of Vygotsky has been very useful to me as an educator
and a researcher. Do others think similarly and/or have other thoughts
on Vygotsky and postmodernism. Does anyone know of some writing on
this---I've read Newman and Holzman's work and I've read others whose
work is not overtly postmodern, but who I see as having a postmodern
understanding of Vygotsky-ex. Luis Moll's discussion of the creative,
fluid, ongoing process of people creating culture… I would be interested
in what other people think.
Thanks,
Carrie Lobman
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