Yes, there is something about tools that "stays the same" in some sense, or
what might be termed "artifactual" (in Mike's sense) or "repeatable" in
Bakhtin's terminology. One can view tools also as themselves relatively
stable or unstable at different points in time; in other words, the degree of
stabilization is a dimension of tools (I think the actor-
network approach uses this term to describe objects).
Depending on circumstances, a tool may not change too
much in use from previous uses, but in others, the tool
becomes something different--something like when
an author violates "too many" of the conventions of a particular genre.
Tim raises the issue of "access" to tools and "privileging" of
certain tools. I think this is one area where the encounter
between critical theory and sociocultural research has
been most productive. The work on literacy in particular
by several people on this network has raised these issues to
the fore, highlighting the interrelationships among power,
identity, schooling practices, and reading.
Bill Penuel
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PreventionInventions
139 Holly Forest
Nashville, TN 37221
(615) 646-9682