[Xmca-l] Re: AERA Session: Being/Becoming an Activist Scholar: Lessons From Cultural-Historical Activity Research

Sat Mar 31 21:31:29 PDT 2018

I'm still not quite sure I understand what the pointer to Bezmenov was all
about, but I do notice some eerie connections between Bezmenov's little
speech and Ted Nugent's recent rant about the March for our Lives kids (and
esp. the Parkland students):
http://13wham.com/news/nation-world/ted-nugent-parkland-survivors-mushy-brained-children-who-have-no-soul
Just noticing.
-greg

On Sat, Mar 31, 2018 at 9:51 PM, David Kellogg <dkellogg60@gmail.com> wrote:

> Francine:
>
> First of all, we are all useful idiots. Just for example, Bezemenov was a
> "useful idiot" for the John Birchers. And John Birch himself was a "useful
> idiot".
>
> Secondly, the Larry Kohlberg studies were rightly criticized at book length
> by Carol Gilligan (and at somewhat shorter length by Yongho Kim and myself
> in "Rocks and a Hard Place", in Language and Education in 2015.
>
> Thirdly, one of the things that makes people activists, as opposed to
> amateur news therapists, is that we focus on the desirability of outcomes
> and not just motives. If the study of morality over history tells us
> anything, it is that only bad outcomes ever come from pure
> motives. Progress, like development, is always complexly motivated.
>
> David Kellogg
> Sangmyung University
>
> Recent Article in *Early Years*
>
> The question of questions: Hasan’s critiques, Vygotsky’s crises, and the
> child’s first interrogatives
> <https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09575146.2018.1431874>
>
> Free e-print available at:
> https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/6EeWMigjFARavQjDJjcW/full
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 1, 2018 at 12:29 PM, Larry Smolucha <lsmolucha@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > message from Francine:
> >
> >
> > Here are some points for activist/scholars to consider regarding the 1984
> > interview with Soviet KGB defector Yuri Berzmenov.
> >
> >
> >
> > Here's the link (again):
> >
> > https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ
> >
> > [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K4kHiUAjTvQ/hqdefault.jpg]<htt
> > ps://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> >
> > Yuri Bezmenov - KGB Defector on "Useful Idiots" and the True Face of
> > Communism<https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> > youtu.be
> > The USA is at this moment a destabilized nation on the way to crisis. In
> > this interview from 1984, Yuri Bezmenov articulates the method.
> >
> >
> >
> > Just for starters,
> >
> >
> >   1.  Yuir Bezmenov provides a working model for destabilizing a nation
> > involving processes such as demoralization, abandonment of rational
> > discourse, instigating crises, and normalization under the new social
> order.
> >   2.   This interview is from 1984 so it is also old news of Russian
> > "interference."
> >   3.   Apparently, there is no actual citation from Lenin of his having
> > used the term "useful idiots' to describe the manipulation of unwitting
> > traumatized people by someone with ulterior motives. The recently
> > traumatized high school student March for Life activists are vulnerable
> to
> > such manipulation.  No one knows whether the movement will fizzle out out
> > or even produce voters on election day. Certainly a few student activists
> > might have found their calling.
> >
> >
> > The nerve of me posting something like this that interrupts what could
> > have been a seamless narrative on XMCA.  But as scholars, this is an
> > interesting opportunity to study this (and learn) from this social
> > phenomenon (March for Lives). I remember (years ago) Dr. Jack Getzels at
> > the University of Chicago talking about a study of student activists in
> the
> > 1960's that found some of the most committed student leaders scored at
> the
> > highest level of Kohlberg's stages of moral development but just as many
> > were anarchists at the lowest level. Are activist/ scholars or
> > activist/teachers all of one type?
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> > on behalf of mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>
> > Sent: Friday, March 30, 2018 6:45 PM
> > To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: AERA Session: Being/Becoming an Activist Scholar:
> > Lessons From Cultural-Historical Activity Research
> >
> > Hi Francine-
> >
> > What sort of lesson would you like us to take from Mr. Bezmenov's
> > interviews?
> >
> > mike
> >
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Mar 30, 2018 at 10:21 AM, Larry Smolucha <lsmolucha@hotmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Message from Francine Smolucha:
> > >
> > >
> > > This link has an interview that would be of interest to
> > activist./scholars
> > >
> > >
> > > https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ
> > [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K4kHiUAjTvQ/hqdefault.jpg]<htt
> > ps://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> >
> > Yuri Bezmenov - KGB Defector on "Useful Idiots" and the True Face of
> > Communism<https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> > youtu.be
> > The USA is at this moment a destabilized nation on the way to crisis. In
> > this interview from 1984, Yuri Bezmenov articulates the method.
> >
> >
> > >
> > > [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/K4kHiUAjTvQ/hqdefault.jpg]<htt
> > > ps://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> > >
> > > Yuri Bezmenov - KGB Defector on "Useful Idiots" and the True Face of
> > > Communism<https://youtu.be/K4kHiUAjTvQ>
> > > youtu.be
> > > The USA is at this moment a destabilized nation on the way to crisis.
> In
> > > this interview from 1984, Yuri Bezmenov articulates the method.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > ________________________________
> > > From: xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu
> >
> > > on behalf of Carrie Lobman <carrie.lobman@gse.rutgers.edu>
> > > Sent: Friday, March 30, 2018 9:33 AM
> > > To: xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu
> > > Subject: [Xmca-l] AERA Session: Being/Becoming an Activist Scholar:
> > > Lessons From Cultural-Historical Activity Research
> > >
> > > Hello XMCAers,
> > >
> > >
> > > I am very pleased to be chairing this timely and important session at
> > AERA
> > > in a few weeks (Monday April 16). The idea for Being/Becoming an
> > > Activist-Scholar <http://tinyurl.com/ybdkh6kw> was born at last years
> > > conference in San Antonio where I felt a shift as more and more people,
> > > particularly graduate students, were identifying as activist scholars
> or
> > > were seeking to engage in activism. I believe as socio-cultural and
> > > activitists we have much to offer this conversation and a
> responsibility
> > to
> > > lead and teach.
> > > What Is a 21st-Century Activist Scholar to Do?<http://tinyurl.com/
> > ybdkh6kw
> > > >
> > > tinyurl.com
> > > To the naïve mind revolution and history seem incompatible. It believes
> > > that historical development continues as long as it follows a straight
> > > line. When a change comes, a break in the historical fabric, a
> leap—then
> > > this naïve mind sees only catastrophe, a fall, a rupture; for the naïve
> > > mind history ends until back again straight and narrow. The scientific
> > mind
> > > on the contrary, views revolution as the locomotive of history, forging
> > > ahead at full speed; it regards the revolutionary epoch as the
> tangible,
> > > living embodiment of history. A revolution solves only those tasks
> which
> > > have been raised by history; this proposition holds equally true for
> > > revolution in general and for aspects of social and cultural life.
> > > (Vygotsky as quoted in Leviathan, 1982). Socio-cultural theory was born
> > of
> > > activism. It emerged in the early, most improvisational moments of the
> > > Russian Revolution, and one of its continuing provocations is that it
> > does
> > > not claim to be objective or apolitical. Vygotsky and his followers
> > located
> > > thei
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I was thrilled that Kris Guitierrez, Lois Holzman, and Anna Stetsenko
> > > agreed to be our featured speakers as they each bring a long history of
> > > rigorous scholarship and activism but from with different frameworks,
> > > activities and communities. These three presentations will jumpstart a
> > > conversation with an invited panel of emerging and established scholar
> > > activists who will collectively interview and respond to the
> > presentations
> > > and lead a discussion with the audience.
> > >
> > >
> > > Please get the word out as widely as possible.
> > >
> > >
> > > http://tinyurl.com/y7zguva7
> > >
> > >
> > > Carrie
> > >
> > >
> > > Carrie Lobman, Ed.D.
> > >
> > > Chair, Department of Learning and Teaching
> > >
> > > Graduate School of Education
> > >
> > > Rutgers University
> > >
> > > www.gse.rutgers.edu<http://www.gse.rutgers.edu>
> > >
> > > www.eastsideinstitute.org<http://www.eastsideinstitute.org<h<
> http://www.
> > eastsideinstitute.org<http://www.eastsideinstitute.org<h>
> > > ttp://www.eastsideinstitute.org<http://www.eastsideinstitute.org>>
> > >
> > > www.performingtheworld.org<http://www.performingtheworld.org<
> http://www<
> > http://www.performingtheworld.org<http://www.performingtheworld.org<htt
> > p://www>.
> > > performingtheworld.org<http://www.performingtheworld.org>>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>

-- 
Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
880 Spencer W. Kimball Tower
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
WEBSITE: greg.a.thompson.byu.edu
http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson