bb's ideas make sense to BB
I think Yrjo's framework is more useful in thinking about XMCA. XMCA is a
system, to me, more akin to a collectve. (I think that early on, Yrjo used
the term "collective activity system" I prefer to think of his node for
"community" as "collective", after chasing down more material to read as
the result of recent discussions.
The CoP notion is problematic. Legitimate participation and central
participation suggest that certain individuals are located either inside or
outside the dominant ideology. At AERA one year, Lave expressed that the
idea that central participation was too political and suggested full
participation. I don't think "full participation" softens the issue, however.
CoP might be to close the the idea of community of learners. A community of
learners reminds one of tranquility, etc. The idea that participants in a
system, similarly to how a CoP is often described, can manage conflict,
disruption, discoordination, and keep the community stabilized, repaired,
learning and transforming ignores just how dynamic and complex social
systems are. The CoP framework suggests that normal disruptions are serious
tears in the binding of the COP and have to be repaired quickly.
Individuals who are viewed as "outside" tend to become marginalized over
time by the dominant interpreters the (con)-text, ant interpret the
(con)-text against the ideology.
The discourse with in a social system can be oppressive, particularly to
those who are marginalized. The discourse is shaped by those most powerful
in relation to the dominant ideology, those with more political savvy. The
discourse can only be changed by those with the courage to challenge it and
withstand the response, for example the response of Bryson, Hodges, and
others recently.
The notion of CoP, in a way, hides what Arne Raeithel described as
"wrestling with ideas and each other." This might have been his idea of
"practice." Human activity offers the traveler one hell of bumpy ride. A
CoP might like a quick fix to disequilibrium, whereas collectivity
encourages its existence. Bakhtin's ideas about heteroglossia, for
example, seem to fit much better in a collective than a CoP.
What do you think bb?
Bill Blanton
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