Thanks, Nancy for even more ideas!
With the feedback that has been given here, I'd like to organize the month's
conversation on the specific practices influenced by Vygotskian theory that
I originally suggested. I've invited 6 people to join the list at least (for
the month) and so far 3 are eager to do so. They're having trouble
subscribing at the moment though. I hope they get on by tomorrow.
I thought I would ask them to introduce themselves and their work and then I
would post 2-3 questions to them to get the conversation started.
Lois
> From: "Ares, Nancy (Warner)" <nancy.ares@rochester.edu>
> Reply-To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 08:42:14 -0500
> To: "'eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity'" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
> Subject: RE: [xmca] Topics for December again
>
> Okay, a tentative weighing in...
>
> I like the idea of examining practice that is grounded in Vygotskian theory
> and focused on development -- theorizing with practice would be an
> interesting turn for this list. I also very much appreciated Mary Bryson and
> others' pointing us to other literatures/traditions (cf., cultural studies)
> to enrich our understanding, or at least discussion of, subjectivity. Lois
> Holzman's article on performative psychology sounds germane to examining
> notions of development in organizations, as could work by Bakhtin and work
> in funds of knowledge (Gonzalez, Moll), to name just a few.
>
> All this to say that it may be informative to see how people complement
> Vygotskian approaches to theory and practice to make sense of complexity.
> Where does practice lead us theoretically? What are the decisions involved
> in, as Gutierrez and Stone (2001) wrote, the principled use of multiple
> theoretical perspectives in service of promoting development?
>
> Nancy
>
>> First Message
>>
>> I'd like folks to learn about some Vygotskian-influenced programs I
>>> collaborate with Ð the All Stars' youth programs in the US and programs
>> of
>>> an organization in the former Yugoslavia called Zdravo da Ste (Hi
>> Neighbor).
>>> (They are connected through me.) I can tell you more if you like but
>> here's
>>> my question. Although the founders and their colleagues speak about
>> their
>>> work (in fact, I met the Zdravo da Ste folks at the Vygotsky-Piaget
>>> conference in Generva in the 90s) they do not write academically (again,
>> the
>>> Yugos write but not in English). So the materials I have to present to
>> XMCA
>>> are not academic but more popular and/or my writing on their work. On
>> the
>>> one hand, I think this focus on practice might be refreshingly
>> interesting
>>> and challenging for the list; on the other hand, people might feel they
>> do
>>> not have enough "meat" to work with.
>>> Any thoughts?
>>> Oh, I also have videos...
>>
>> Second Message
>>
>>> Yes, it is all about the design of environments for development. What is
>>> interesting to grapple with, perhaps, is the concept of development that
>> each
>>> organization works with and what the work looks like. I say this because
>> each
>>> has, independently, developed practices that they call activity theory
>> based
>>> or influenced but their understandings of activity theory are, excuse my
>>> language here, radically dialectical and goal-less. Each also links
>>> development with performance in everyday life. And, each is successful
>> to the
>>> extent that they are by virtue of being part of larger
>> community-building
>>> projects. For example, the former Yugoslavian organization works with
>>> thousands of refugees and displaced persons of all ages. The youth work
>> is
>>> part of that. Ana is very familiar with the work by the way and her
>> project
>>> shares some of the features.
>>>
>>> However, I guess you could be right in seeing this kind of topic as more
>> a
>>> show and tell, which I too would love to see people taking on for a
>> period of
>>> time. Maybe I should postpone this until I invite the specific people in
>>> Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia to come on to the list and participate. And
>> maybe
>>> I should ask the list if a show and tell is of any interest.
>>>
>>> On the other hand, I did think of suggesting people read an article of
>> mine on
>>> performative psychology and education (it raises some of the same issues
>> as
>>> the practical work above) but that seemed self-promoting! What do you
>> think?
>>> My article is theoretical. Maybe pairing it with an article by my
>> colleague
>>> Carrie Lobman from Rutgers on improvisation in early childhood (a
>> qualitative
>>> study) would work.
>>
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