Re: ealy 20th-C Russian women
Katherine Brown (kbrown who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu)
Tue, 6 Apr 1999 14:29:45 -0700 (PDT)
Hi
i have seen people begin to take up the discussion in bits and pieces...
Isn't it the case that Vera John-Steiner is working on AT and gender
right now? I have seen a wonderful opportunity for a graduate course
on principles of feminist research and activity theory, starting from
the feminist critique of marxism and the critique of the two psychologies
drawn into conversation with one another. I have said before that
the co-existence of concepts of materialsm, historicity, contradictions,
tensions between the notion of a unitary individual and the embeddedness
of the insdividual in cultural and social life are ripe for the
comparative pickings.
Activity theoretical work on multi-voicedness, role conflict, the division
of labor and the difficulties with the concept of community would be great
ways to dis cuss, say, social changes in the US (or East Germany...or ??)
in the late sizties and early 1970s. For example, look at feminist histories of the role of women in SNCC (typists for TOm Hayden) or other social movements
devoted to :justice" and use AT concepts to theorize contradictions between
rhetoric and practice...Or, for one last example of an option. look at the
interplay of constructions of gender, race, class, age, and sexual orientation
always shaping the impact of each other. Diane and Mary are both asking
about this lack of presence or interest in non-male generated theory.
Anyone else have an idea of how, say , to structure a reading list that
would bring major texts of sociocultural thery into converasation with
feminist theory? I may just have to develop the course myself!
Katherine Brown