[Xmca-l] Re: New Year's Perezhivanie

[lpscholar2@gmail.com]

Peter, (and Bella)
Thank  you for this resource that furthers my understanding of Vygotsky’s family influences. 
I do not want to draw us away from this months focus on perezhivanie. But two quick fragments i will highlight.
*on page 20 of Bella’s paper see note 14. It documents that Vygotsky translated Hebrew literature into Russian. He translated Berdichevsky’s story. What is the title of this story? – (Redemption). I hear in this word echoes of perezhivanie. 
*on page 21 Bella highlights that for 2 full years while at the gymnasium Vygotsky organized a study seminar on the history of the Jewish people, seeking to understand the nature of history, the role of the individual in history, and the essence of nations, and other similar questions of the philosophy of history.

I find these facts relevant as they overlap with our focus on perezhivanie.

Sent from my Windows 10 phone

From: Peter Smagorinsky
Sent: January 3, 2017 11:47 AM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity; Christopher Schuck
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: New Year's Perezhivanie

The attached article is focused on Vygotsky's Jewish legacy, also by a Bella (in response to Larry's "Bella has written a book on the relation of Judaic tradition and Vygotsky (which I have not read) but at the heart of the Judaic tradition is the human path and humanity existing here and now in our living relations.")

-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of lpscholar2@gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2017 2:25 PM
To: Christopher Schuck <schuckcschuck@gmail.com>; eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: New Year's Perezhivanie

Christopher, your way of reading (entering into) and responding that offers examples and then alternatives (the otherwise) i believe captures the flow of perezhivanie.
If the struggle between meaningfulness-meaninglessness is at the heart of this month’s article as the heart of crisis, I believe this is also the deep question that most often brings persons to Western forms of psycho-therapy -in   our particular localized  time and place.
Your 2nd question of the relation between perezhivanie and (force) seems to be relevant. The relation of perezhivanie with less forceful, WEAKER notions of (entering into) such as enduring, revisiting, working through. I would add (going out on a limb) that we may also want to explore the notion of the Judaic tradition that runs through what Zukerman calls (the human path) of humanity. I lack background to be specific but do notice the number of Judaic scholars who have been and are engaged with psychotherapy as expressing the character of human salvation and redemption. 
Martin Buber’s name is often mentioned in this regard. 
Bella has written a book on the relation of Judaic tradition and Vygotsky (which I have not read) but at the heart of the Judaic tradition is the human path and humanity existing here and now in our living relations.
If this is going a  step too far, just ignore, and return to the question of less forceful (weaker) human paths of enduring and working through by (entering into) the meaningfulness-meaninglessness (crisis) as both existential and cultural-historical.
An alternative image to forcefully hammering and smashing the bricks in the hope of clearing a space for something new to emerge or be created as the bricks scatter and we begin to (de-sign) something brand new from the rubble. 
The back and forth that feels like repetition and sameness and being stuck may be actually a mood and an (entering into) and (living through) and (working through) the crisis. 
I would add and highlight this movement is not an interior journey of mastery towards (independence) but is,  using Zukerman’s words, an inter/mental back and forth generating a meaningful way forward from within the tension of the crisis of perezhivanie.

My belief is when moving through the crisis we do not travel alone but travel with others expressing care and concern for us. The time for heroic journeys is now in question?

Sent from my Windows 10 phone

From: Christopher Schuck
Sent: January 3, 2017 9:39 AM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: [Xmca-l] New Year's Perezhivanie

It's an interesting question (about the brick and perezhivanie), partly because that extended, "living-through", repeated doubling-back process evoked by the Vygotskian sense of the concept would seem to be at odds with a single, discrete act of "smashing" that is immediate, forceful and even violent. It would suggest that part of what perezhivanie means is wrapped up in the symbolic marking of its end - and that this end, when it comes, can be forceful. Certainly, the image could not be more unified and embodying of a particular set of meaningful experiences. But is that how perezhivanie works? This leads me to ask:

1) what are the problems and contradictions encountered in using particular metaphors to depict perezhivanie, where perezhivanie is itself so defined by imagination and narrativity? Part of this might also be a question of what it means to describe and represent one's own perezhivanie figuratively/narratively (whether to others, or to oneself), as opposed to living that perezhivanie. Especially if the attempt to capture/represent one's own perezhivanie is, perhaps, also central to the living of it?

 2) What is the nature of the relationship between perezhivanie and force, either in terms of the internal process or in terms of how it finally "ends"?  (Not to mention, how it begins). It would seem that in both conceptions discussed in the article there is a certain intensity required.
But does this in some cases require something more explosive - and does Vasilyuk's conception of perezhivanie as activity speak more to this possibility? And how do we reconcile this with the less "forceful" notion of enduring, revisiting, and working through?

On Monday, January 2, 2017, mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu> wrote:

> The pieces of brick thrown up by this political hammering have not yet 
> fallen and made the devastation personally experienced by the nation/world.
>
> Still, genuinely, we can wish all of us 7.3 billion well in the new year.
>
> So what do you think chuck, is this a good representation of perezhivanie?
> :-)
> Mike
>
> On Mon, Jan 2, 2017 at 11:24 AM Charles Bazerman < 
> bazerman@education.ucsb.edu> wrote:
>
> > So you think 2017 has any hope of being any better?
> >
> > Chuck
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> >
> > From: mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>
> >
> > Date: Monday, January 2, 2017 11:01 am
> >
> > Subject: [Xmca-l]  New Year's Perezhivanie
> >
> > To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> >
> >
> >
> > > With the New Year, as our Russian colleagues put it!
> >
> > >
> >
> > > This image forwarded from a friend more or less sums up my 
> > > experience
> >
> > > of
> >
> > > the past year. Thought you might find it interesting too.
> >
> > >
> >
> > > Vis a vis the discussion of perezhivanie: Does this image provide 
> > > us
> with
> >
> > > used (re-presented) behavioral evidence of a person undergoing
> > perezhivanie?
> >
> > >
> >
> > > Looking forward to the discussion.
> >
> > >
> >
> > > Feliz año nuevo!
> >
> > >
> >
> > > Mike
> >
> >
> >
> >
>