[Xmca-l] Re: The Learning Sciences in the era of U.S. Nationalism
Helena Worthen
helenaworthen@gmail.com
Mon Jan 23 20:29:32 PST 2017
Julian, the movie you’re thinking of is Pride.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride_(2014_film)
Are you suggesting stepping from looking at and studying identity groups to “coming out” as being a member of one, and then in full feather of one’s identity, relating to the stranger across the aisle?
But could you please explain what this means: “…..whose cultural capital in his analysis is a transposition of the dominant economic, capitalist class.” What does “transposition” mean here?
Thanks —
Helena Worthen
helenaworthen@gmail.com
Berkeley, CA 94707
Blog about US and Viet Nam: helenaworthen.wordpress.com
> On Jan 23, 2017, at 10:49 AM, Julian Williams <julian.williams@manchester.ac.uk> wrote:
>
> Dear Helena and all
>
> The victories of the right in the US and Europe surely cannot be explained
> only by cultural identity issues, and not only by the disaffection of the
> workers with their traditional (-ly hopeless social democratic) parties,
> though these are important elements of the situation that are making the
> far right a possible option for capital.
>
> Surely we have to look at the global failure of capitalism: the reasons
> are essentially economic. Our rulers seem ever more desperate to manage a
> rate of profit that will satisfy capital and it seems a small portion of
> them are prepared to back the far right as an option on the political
> field if necessary. Not yet a significant minority of the Davos class,
> because they still need to be convinced that the traditional order cannot
> be made to work, but the Murdoch's and the UKIP/ Tory petit bourgeois
> backbone are nearly there already: Trump himself is pretty much there, as
> is Le Pen et al, ..
>
> Within this context, and more if/when another 2008 crash hits, the fascist
> strategy will grow more attractive as the rightist parties attract more
> disaffected workers, non-workers and petit bourgeois. All the
> cultural-ideological elements of fascism and nationalism are there in the
> Uk and France/Netherlands etc just as bad as in Trumpland. (Hey Trump
> didn't even get the majority vote - on any democratic conception he has no
> right to have been declared a winnerŠ. Unless we can declare 'Remain' a
> victory because its 48% vote is represented in our parliament by a
> majority of the representatives?)
>
> What can 'we' do? Only to keep trying to clarify it, keep telling it as it
> is and might be. What part a conceptualisation of perezhivanie has in this
> I don't know - but it might be worth re-reading 'The struggle against
> fascism in Germany' again (not being ironic). The lesson then/there was to
> block with Social Democracy and labour unions/parties while explaining its
> failures, helping their support to move left as well as showing there is
> an alternative to the alternative (here we have Corbyn and momentum; the
> US have Bernie and ?).
>
> But maybe this strategy is not enough? What else? I think there are
> important interventions also in the cultural fields and so identity is an
> issue for capital. I wrote a bit about this from Bourdieu's perspectiveŠ
> what progressives in every field have in common is that they resist the
> dominant powers in their cultural field - whose cultural capital in his
> analysis is a transposition of the dominant economic, capitalist class.
> That¹s what LGBT, underprivileged groups, national/ethnic minorities, etc
> everywhere have in common, if we can be helped to see itŠ like that film
> of the gay rights activists from London who marched to South Wales to
> support the miners strikeŠ and the miners who in returned joined a gay
> rights march in LondonŠ what was that called?
>
> Julian.
>
>
>
> On 23/01/2017 17:55, "xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of Helena
> Worthen" <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of
> helenaworthen@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Well, yes. Good question: How? I take it Francine is not asking this
>> ironically: she really wants us to figure out how.
>>
>> The challenge is to answer the question.
>>
>> I don¹t think any of us have a quick answer, but it certainly is a
>> question that is within our collective knowledge to address.
>>
>> H
>>
>> Helena Worthen
>> helenaworthen@gmail.com
>> Berkeley, CA 94707
>> Blog about US and Viet Nam: helenaworthen.wordpress.com
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Jan 22, 2017, at 7:32 PM, Larry Smolucha <lsmolucha@hotmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Message from Francine Smolucha:
>>>
>>>
>>> The key to an analysis of the Trump movement is understanding the
>>>
>>> fundamental IRONIES that have rocked American politics.
>>>
>>>
>>> The workers revolution has resulted in the
>>>
>>> workers/unions deserting the Left, the socialists, the Democratic Party.
>>>
>>> Trump is a Capitalist regardless of whether he actually has a
>>> Republican ideology.
>>>
>>> The workers' movement has been hijacked by a capitalist.
>>>
>>>
>>> The other great IRONY is that Trump wants to make Russia a U.S. ally
>>> (again).
>>>
>>> The Left, the socialists, the Democratic Party are the ones demonizing
>>> Russia -
>>>
>>> what a reversal!
>>>
>>>
>>> Since CHAT derives from Russian psychology (Leontiev and Vygotsky) and
>>> the backlash against Trump is also a backlash against all things Russian
>>> - this puts CHAT in a particularly awkward position. How can a cultural
>>> historical psychology that originated in Russia become the leader in the
>>> anti-Trump discourse? or lead an anti-Trump educational movement? You
>>> are even extolling a Russian concept PEREZHIVANIE.
>>>
>>>
>>> I think the XMCA needs to examine its own perezhivanie at this time.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>
>>> on behalf of mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>
>>> Sent: Sunday, January 22, 2017 3:01 PM
>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>>> Cc: Mariane Hedegaard; Reijo Miettinen; Seth Chaiklin
>>> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: The Learning Sciences in the era of U.S.
>>> Nationalism
>>>
>>> Helena et al --
>>>
>>> An important emphasis in the article for me was on the fact that
>>> although
>>> the article focused on the American nationalist movement that has just
>>> pulled of an alt-right coup, similar movements are poised to take hold
>>> in a
>>> lot of places in Europe to join the many already entrenched unsavory
>>> governments in other parts of the world.
>>>
>>> The CRADLE center in Helsinki is under very concerted attack and the
>>> right
>>> wing government appears, from this distance, to be making great
>>> progress on
>>> destroying its legacy. The same process has been in Denmark for some
>>> time,
>>> also with apparent success.
>>>
>>> What do our international colleagues who have already felt the hot
>>> breath
>>> of right wing nationalism have to offer in terms of strategies of
>>> resistence?
>>>
>>> Back to "what is to be done," that sombre question from an earlier era.
>>> The
>>> answer last time did not produce what it promised.
>>>
>>> mike
>>>
>>> mike
>>>
>>> On Sun, Jan 22, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Helena Worthen
>>> <helenaworthen@gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thank you, Alfredo - I gave it a read.
>>>>
>>>> Sure, of course they¹re right. But I am very disappointed.
>>>>
>>>> I was hoping that the following was only item #1 in a long list of
>>>> "what
>>>> the 2016 election made apparent":
>>>>
>>>> The 2016 election has made apparent the need for scholarship that
>>>> explicitly defends and furthers the rights and well-being of people of
>>>> color, immigrants, Muslims, women, people who are differently abled,
>>>> LGBTQ
>>>> communities, and the earth. These are stances that have been limited,
>>>> at
>>>> least explicitly, in the Learning Sciences.
>>>>
>>>> But the call for inclusion was not just #1, it seems to be the whole
>>>> thing. In other words, it¹s all about identity ‹plus the earth, of
>>>> course.
>>>> While inclusion is necessary, it¹s not even a start. Yes, research,
>>>> teaching, publishing, promotion, conferences ‹ everything associated
>>>> with
>>>> teaching and learning has to include everyone as equals (see Andy¹s
>>>> book)
>>>> in one way or another ‹ but then what? What are they (we) supposed to
>>>> do?
>>>> Where does the pretty language touch the ground?
>>>>
>>>> I was listening to a broadcast of the Women¹s March in DC on Saturday
>>>> morning, and Kamala Harris, who was the California State Attorney
>>>> General
>>>> and is now a junior Senator from CA, was addressing the rally. She
>>>> said,
>>>> ³People always ask me to talk about women¹s issues. I say, ŒOh, I¹m SO
>>>> glad
>>>> you¹re interested in economics!! Let¹s talk about economics.² And she
>>>> ran
>>>> through a whole set of parallel back-and-forths, always pulling
>>>> identity
>>>> questions back to wages, jobs, earning, supporting your family, etc
>>>> etc.
>>>>
>>>> Much as we need to wipe away any barriers to the Learning Sciences (and
>>>> the professions and institutions dedicated to them) due to identity,
>>>> until
>>>> the Learning Sciences start taking a look at the place where most
>>>> people
>>>> spend most of their lives ‹ not school, I mean ‹ but work, they will be
>>>> engaging in a soft conversation at the edge of the real issue. It¹s a
>>>> pleasant conversation but it doesn¹t put a hand on the levers that
>>>> translate skill and knowledge into rent and groceries.
>>>>
>>>> H
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Helena Worthen
>>>> helenaworthen@gmail.com
>>>> Berkeley, CA 94707
>>>> Blog about US and Viet Nam: helenaworthen.wordpress.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> On Jan 22, 2017, at 11:38 AM, Alfredo Jornet Gil <a.j.gil@iped.uio.no>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Here it is,
>>>>>
>>>>> http://cognitionandinstruction.com/engagements-the-learning-
>>>> sciences-in-a-new-era-of-u-s-nationalism/
>>>>>
>>>>> Alfredo
>>>>> ________________________________________
>>>>> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu
>>>>> <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>
>>>> on behalf of Helena Worthen <helenaworthen@gmail.com>
>>>>> Sent: 22 January 2017 20:24
>>>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>>>>> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: The Learning Sciences in the era of U.S.
>>>> Nationalism
>>>>>
>>>>> Someone please re-send the link to this article? I think I¹m going to
>>>> want to read it and respond to Mike¹s question.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thanks ‹ H
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Helena Worthen
>>>>> helenaworthen@gmail.com
>>>>> Berkeley, CA 94707
>>>>> Blog about US and Viet Nam: helenaworthen.wordpress.com
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Jan 22, 2017, at 12:25 AM, Alfredo Jornet Gil
>>>>>> <a.j.gil@iped.uio.no>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Mike,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> thanks a lot for sharing this article. You and Michael, who have and
>>>> know more history, have spoken in terms of reminiscences. I have lived
>>>> and
>>>> know less, and the article feels like fresh air. During my PhD, I
>>>> begun to
>>>> increasingly feel that I had to due something to act and respond to the
>>>> increasing ecological and humanitarian globe crises. But how could I do
>>>> anything if I had children and a PhD to finalise?? What could I do that
>>>> would also be doing my job as researcher in a department of education?
>>>> It
>>>> was very difficult to find anything, partly because almost every
>>>> academic
>>>> quest would focus on learning, but so little on social development. How
>>>> many scientific articles are dedicated to socio-political questions in
>>>> the
>>>> most cited educational journals? I felt very powerless.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To be able to address these questions within my expertise, is a
>>>> challenge partly because contrary to Dewey's hope, educational
>>>> research has
>>>> only marginally focused on these questions, and yet they may be
>>>> exactly the
>>>> question that matter to education. What are we educating for? Indeed,
>>>> what
>>>> is education for? I think we face a serious problem when someone (like
>>>> myself), being an educational researchers/scholar, still has to
>>>> scratch her
>>>> head wondering <<how can I make my profession matter to social change
>>>> and
>>>> development?>> Vygotsky would be shocked!
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Alfredo
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu
>>>>>> <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>
>>>> on behalf of mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>
>>>>>> Sent: 19 January 2017 04:51
>>>>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
>>>>>> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: The Learning Sciences in the era of U.S.
>>>> Nationalism
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Yes Michael,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It feels like the world of the later 1930's about the time I was
>>>>>> born as
>>>>>> that period came down to me through the prism of a family of
>>>>>> "premature
>>>>>> anti fascists."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For a great re-creation of those times see the highly ambivalent
>>>>>> film by
>>>>>> Frank Capra, "meet John Doe." It has American big capital
>>>>>> interconnected
>>>>>> with fascism combined with populist collectivism in a manner that
>>>> points at
>>>>>> the media (as then experienced) as the bad guys in disguise. Happy
>>>> Ending,
>>>>>> Beethoven Ode to Joy and all.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It's come round again, nastier this time.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Mike
>>>>>> On Wed, Jan 18, 2017 at 6:20 PM Glassman, Michael
>>>>>> <glassman.13@osu.edu>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Mike
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It was so interesting to read this note after reading the Cognition
>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>> Instruction essay. All the way through it I kept thinking we have
>>>>>>> been
>>>>>>> here before. It reminded me of the scholars, especially those who
>>>>>>> had
>>>>>>> escaped from Germany, trying to make sense of what had happened to
>>>> their
>>>>>>> society during World War II. The foremost in my mind was Lewin.
>>>> Except I
>>>>>>> wonder if he would say the process of transformative action starts
>>>>>>> not
>>>> with
>>>>>>> emergence of quasi-needs, but our willingness and abilities to step
>>>> back
>>>>>>> from our quasi-needs and the ways that they drive us, often to
>>>>>>> dysfunctional behaviors that it ultimately destructive to both our
>>>> society
>>>>>>> and to us as individuals. How hard this is to do, we have to keep
>>>> going
>>>>>>> back again and again. The quasi-needs, tribalism, acceptance,
>>>> standing are
>>>>>>> always there. It is how they shape us that is critical.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Michael
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:
>>>>>>> xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of mike cole
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2017 8:31 PM
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Subject: [Xmca-l] The Learning Sciences in the era of U.S.
>>>>>>> Nationalism
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In following the perezhivanie thread I encountered the note I
>>>> re-membered.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> And interestingly mis-remembered. A translation into my focus on
>>>>>>> mediational means. He places the starting point of the process of
>>>>>>> transformative action at the emergence of quasi-needs (from Kurt
>>>> Lewin).
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> That seems correct to me. The new mediational means emerge under
>>>>>>> environmental presses. Ever functionalist ego need a goal(!). (The
>>>> problem
>>>>>>> with functionalism) In David's words,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Perhaps the place we should look for "exaptations" that can save
>>>>>>> both
>>>> our
>>>>>>> personalities and our environment is not in our evolved needs, but
>>>>>>> in
>>>> yet
>>>>>>> to be designed quasi-needs. Artificial organs, after all, always
>>>> suggest
>>>>>>> new and ever more artificial functions, like chess and language.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> This point seems worth keeping in mind as we look at where this
>>>>>>> group
>>>> of
>>>>>>> critical scholars who work within the Learning Sciences disciplinary
>>>>>>> framework would like to lead us.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> mike
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>
>
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