Dear Anna and all,
I think you're right marking the fact that a cultural "context" cannot exist
out of history movements. This processual approach to phenomena is something
that does features Vyg's dialectical thinking. Very well reminded by you.
Judith has already done a translation to Portuguese of the terms asked by
Mike. Anyway...
Context = ContextO
Contextualist = ContextualistA
But the meanings they can be "dressed" out is very fluid and provisory,
according to the "motives" (Smag's) of a speaker.
Ricardo Japiassu
Universidade do Estado da Bahia em Teixeira de Freitas - Uneb X
Rua SS, s/n - Jd. Caraípe
Tx. de Freitas - Bahia
45 995 000 BRASIL
http://www.ricardojapiassu.pro.br
----- Original Message -----
From: "anna popova" <anjutapopova@yahoo.com>
To: <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2003 9:30 AM
Subject: Re: Vygotsky and context
> I think I joined the dicussion a bot too late. Got a
> lot of email today and was reading them with interest,
> waiting for someone to mention culture. Thank you,
> Mike.
> Understanding of what context ever meant for Vygotsky
> is important, in my opinion. Can we talk about one
> context? Didn't he imply that culture has the power of
> linking the contexts together? "A" context cannot
> exist in Vygotskian world. There is a temporal and
> spacial trajectory of contexts within the culture. Do
> they remain contexts or shall we call them something
> else? We can still use the term context if we decide
> to examine contexts in comparison to each other.
> During the process of comparison the "trajectory" my
> fall into a number of contexts (but whose standards
> are we using for comparison?).
> I am not sure if I have made myself a little bit clear
> but this is what my PhD "writing-up" mind is up to at
> the moment.
> Anna Popova
> --- Mike Cole <mcole@weber.ucsd.edu> wrote:
> > Ana-- I'll put aside the discussion of whether LSV
> > believed in evolutionary
> > progression or not. I think he did and we can return
> > to this question or
> > someone else can take it up. But I am focused on the
> > meaning(s) of
> > context being used in such discussion. So, I want to
> > focus on questions
> > that arise from your statement that:
> >
> > the key to understanding Vygotsky is to understand
> > that social
> > communication precedes higher mental functions in
> > human beings. Social
> > activities and processes are not just a background
> > (context) within which a
> > person, and individual develops -- social processes
> > and activities are
> > internalized (Vygotsky's term) and make the person's
> > self. And (!), this
> > is not social reductionism, because the process of
> > internalization is the
> > process of active recreation of a social world as an
> > inner microcosm.
> > In addition, I think that play -- activities and
> > orientations in play --
> > are key to understanding how this
> > internalizing/recreating works.
> >
> > 1. Vis a vis LSV's thinking, I think I agree that
> > the individual is
> > differentiated from the social group, that social
> > activities are not
> > just a background (is "background" a synomym for
> > "context" here?).
> >
> > 2. Its crucial in avoiding the (sometimes alleged)
> > idea that society
> > creates the individual and turn the matter to the
> > active individual
> > internalizing social ....ugh....context (?)
> > situation (?) pattern of
> > interaction (?) and CREATING the psychological
> > plane/inner microcosm.
> >
> > Do you believe, and do you believe that LSV
> > believed, these processes
> > to be universal? And in particular, do you believe
> > that his account of
> > the role of play in development is universal? That
> > is the issue that
> > Artin and Susan raise.
> >
> > Now a question. The term, culture, does not enter
> > your account. Yet
> > isn't culture central to the mechanism of
> > development from a cultural
> > historical perspective?
> >
> > And if the answer is yes, is cultural variation of
> > any importance?
> >
> > And a second question. Tool mediated action in
> > context is the unit of
> > analysis proposed by Jim Wertsch, Volodya Zinchenko
> > and others. Is there
> > any tool you know of, the effectiveness of which is
> > independing of the
> > activity it is mediating?
> >
> > If not, could LSV propose a cultural historical
> > theory and NOT be a
> > contextualist?
> >
> > And now much of this is from LSV and not from either
> > one of his Russian
> > students or non-Russian interpreters?
> >
> > More later. Time to teach a class with Kris
> > Guitterez at UCLA and finish
> > up our joint class for the year. The quarter system
> > sure drags things
> > out.
> >
> > mike
> >
>
>
> =====
>
>
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