Re: [xmca] Aspergers/ASD

[Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com>]

Elizabeth,

Just reading a paper by Diehl and McFarland about interactional frames
across historical time and thought that it had an interesting suggestion to
why Aspergers' might have become such a noticeable phenomena in
postmodernity.

The paper deals primarily with historical forms of interaction across the
epochs of premodernity, modernity, and post-modernity using some of the
tools described by Goffman in his book Frame Analysis. But there is a
provocative little footnote (#28) in which they write:

"Conversely, this conceptualization may offer another way of thinking about
psychosis,
Asperger’s syndrome, and other mental health issues that problematize
routine
social interaction. Within this framework we can see such conditions as
related to
systematic situational misframings and misalignment between frame layers."

This by itself is nothing new (See Goffman's 1957? paper Mental Symptoms
and Public Order for a similar statement), but the larger argument that
they make about changes in the nature of interactional form across time
provides a novel argument for how/why Aspergers has become so salient in
post-modernity (although this takes a little dot-connecting work). This
argument suggests, to me, that the nature of the interactional forms
dominant in post-modernity provide the ground against which a figure of
Aspergers' Syndrome appears to "pop out" as a socially, culturally, and
institutionally recognizable identity.

And I thought the argument for historicizing interaction might be of some
interest to others as well. The paper can be found at:
http://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/mcfarland/Diehl_McFarland2010.pdf
Paper is titled: Toward a Historical Sociology of Social Situations,
authors are Dan McFarland and David Diehl.

cheers,
-greg


On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 10:09 AM, Elizabeth Fein <nickrenz@uchicago.edu>wrote:

> This seems like a great time to introduce myself to the list,
> where I have been lurking for a while. I actually began
> looking into CHAT (at Greg's encouragement, after a paper I
> gave on the subject) as a way of understanding how
> social/cultural/historical conditions might be contributing to
> the rise of autism spectrum conditions. Peter, I am looking
> forward to reading your articles. And I'll put my question out
> there, as I am very curious to hear the responses of this
> group: Do you think there is any possibility that contemporary
> conditions might be contributing to the rise in *actual cases*
> of autism spectrum disorder (not just their detection). (I'm
> thinking in particular of factors such as the
> individualization of society, the need to adhere to social
> norms that are less explicit/structured and more based on
> flexibility in order to win and maintain a social place, and
> the increased role of mimetic media technology as a means of
> socialization). So,for example, the two observations David
> made (that people may be losing opportunities to learn the art
> of social reasoning at the same time that there is a
> heightened demand for facility with decentered discourses)
> might be causing more people not only to be DIAGNOSED, but
> also to DEVELOP in a way that comes off as socially awkward
> and excessively "rote".
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Elizabeth Fein, MA
> Ph.D. Candidate, University of Chicago
> Department of Comparative Human Development
> Psychology Fellow, SociAbility
> (773)860-7275
>
>
> ---- Original message ----
> >Date: Sat, 7 Apr 2012 16:33:36 +0000
> >From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu (on behalf of Peter
> Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu>)
> >Subject: RE: [xmca] Piaget in Vygotsky 1962
> >To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> >
> >Greg, I'm puzzled by your autism observation. The increase in
> autism spectrum conditions (and by calling it a disorder, you
> buy into the deficit view of mental health difference) is
> generally attributed to better diagnostic efforts in light of
> continued research into mental health generally, including
> autism. I say this as someone on the spectrum (Asperger's
> syndrome, which runs in my family). I've had one paper
> published on this topic and have a couple more in press and a
> few more in the conceptual stage (awaiting time to write
> them). I'd be happy to share with others any of the following,
> if you write me off-list. I was supposed to give one at ISCAR
> but couldn't make the trip; I'll give another at AERA next
> weekend. p
> >
> >       Smagorinsky, P. (2011). Confessions of a mad
> professor: An autoethnographic consideration of
> neuroatypicality, extranormativity, and education. Teachers
> College Record, 113, 1701-1732.
> >       Smagorinsky, P. (in press). Vygotsky, "defectology,"
> and the inclusion of people of difference in the broader
> cultural stream. Journal of Language and Literacy Education.
> >       Smagorinsky, P. (in press). "Every individual has his
> own insanity": Applying Vygotsky's work on defectology to the
> question of mental health as an issue of inclusion. Learning,
> Culture and Social Interaction
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-
> bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Greg Thompson
> >Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2012 11:53 AM
> >To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> >Subject: Re: [xmca] Piaget in Vygotsky 1962
> >
> >Larry,
> >and perhaps the incredibly high rates of "Autism Spectrum
> Disorder"
> >diagnosis in the U.S. is a sign of the times?
> >[At the very least, it should be noted that it is a wonderful
> fit for the particular here and now that we inhabit (by
> ourselves?)].
> >-greg
> >
> >On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 4:41 PM, Larry Purss
> <lpscholar2@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Thanks for the 2 versions of this response by Piaget.
> >>
> >> I was interested in Piaget's comments on egocentrism [page
> 3] when he
> >> was talking about unconscious preferential focusing and a
> lack of
> >> differentiation of viewponts.  He gives the example of the
> beginning
> >> instructor who soon discovers that his first lectures were
> >> incomprehensible because he was *talking to himself*, so to
> say,
> >> mindful only of his own point of view. The second example
> Piaget gives
> >> is developing the capacity to place oneself in the shoes of
> the other
> >> [taking the point of view of one's partner] in order to
> convince the other *on his own ground*.
> >>
> >> As I read Piaget's explanation of egocentrism [and its
> continuing
> >> expression throughout the lifespan] I was wondering if this
> ability
> >> [achievement?] to decenter and shift perspectives can be
> viewed as an
> >> *art* form or a *skill* that requires certain dialogical
> *ways* of
> >> expression.
> >> This leads to further wondering if the *distortions* in our
> current
> >> housing arrangements; for example how we are becoming more
> >> *self*-contained and living *solo* [50% of all residences
> in New York
> >> city are occupied by a single occupant] may be  having the
> unintended
> >> consequence that we may be loosing the *art* form of
> *social* reasoning.
> >>
> >> I guess a counter argument could be made that living alone
> requires
> >> more
> >> *skill* in decentering as we are constantly thrown into
> novel
> >> discursive situations.
> >>
> >> Just wondering.
> >>
> >> Larry
> >>
> >> On Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 2:33 PM, David Kellogg
> >> <vaughndogblack@yahoo.com
> >> >wrote:
> >>
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Mike:
> >> >
> >> > Actually, the version up on the Marxists Internet Archive
> is missing
> >> > a page and Parsons' translation, although good, is not
> complete in places.
> >> >
> >> > Here's a version we did, alongside the standard
> translation. The
> >> > boxes
> >> are
> >> > part of a discussion we had in our group when we were
> doing T&S in
> >> Korean.
> >> >
> >> > I didn't answer your last on Basov, mostly because I was
> trying to
> >> > find some Basov beyod what was published in the JREEP
> myself.
> >> > Besides that,
> >> the
> >> > only thing I know about Basov is the (generally very
> favorable)
> >> references
> >> > in HDHMF.
> >> >
> >> > What surprises me is that both Basov and Vygotsky are
> indebted to
> >> Volkelt,
> >> > of all people, for the distinction between analysis into
> units and
> >> analysis
> >> > into elements! And where exactly did Vygotsky get the
> idea that
> >> > behavior evolves just as organs do, if not from Lorenz
> and
> >> > Tinbergen? It might be from Jennings, but in Jennings
> it's not
> >> > exactly behavior itself that evolves; only the
> affordances of an organism's internal organs.
> >> >
> >> > David Kellogg
> >> > Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --- On Fri, 4/6/12, mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > From: mike cole <lchcmike@gmail.com>
> >> > Subject: [xmca] Piaget in Vygotsky 1962
> >> > To: "eXtended Mind, Culture,Activity"
> <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> >> > Date: Friday, April 6, 2012, 10:43 AM
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > Does anyone have a copy of Piaget's piece on Thought and
> Language
> >> > from 1962?
> >> > mike
> >> > __________________________________________
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> >> >
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> >
> >
> >
> >--
> >Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
> >Sanford I. Berman Post-Doctoral Scholar
> >Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition Department of
> Communication University of California, San Diego
> http://ucsd.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
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-- 
Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D.
Sanford I. Berman Post-Doctoral Scholar
Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition
Department of Communication
University of California, San Diego
http://ucsd.academia.edu/GregoryThompson
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