Re: [xmca] Social Situation of Development.Continued

Hi, everyone,
Social situation of development is a fascinating thread. I agree with
Bella's response, Andy, that there is no negative connotation in the social
situation of development. While I am still at the conference, let me
contribute by posting couple of paragraphs from my first article published
in US. I am mentioning it to apologize for poor editing and strong
opinionated position in response to the new western Vygotsky I encountered.
As I was learning English-speaking world's Vygotskian lingua, I tried to
distinguish some of the concepts.
Elina

*Shepel, Elina Lampert (1995). Teacher self-identification in culture from
Vygotsky's developmental perspective. Anthropology and Education Quarterly,
26(4):425-442.*

*Social Situation of Development/Context *

I agree with Jacques Carpey (1993:4) when he says that, if *reason *was a
key term for the 18th century, as *development *was for the 19th, then
surely *culture *and *contextualism *are serious candidates for such a
position in the second half of the 20th century.*The social situation of
development is *a system of relationships among the child, his or her peer
group, and adults.

It should be admitted that the beginning of every age is characterized by a
unique-for-this-age system of relationships between the child and the world,
above all a social one. "We will name this relationship *social situation of
development *in this particular age. Social situation of development is the
initial starting point for all the dynamic change that happens during this
period. It defines totally those forms and the means by which the child
gains new characteristics of personality, derived from the social reality,
as the main source of development, as the way for the social to become the
individual. [Translated from Vygotsky 1984,4:258-259]

This concept, together with the leading type of activity and newly formed
higher psychological function, became the foundation for Daniil Elkonin's
theory of age. *Social situation of development *as a concept can be
considered only within analysis of developmental dynamics, the developmental
change of human being toward an ideal form of voluntary behavior, the
ability to reflect, transform, and manage the system of relationships in the
world via material/ideal artifacts. (This concept should not be confused
with *context *or *social context, *words that are widely used now and are
understood as a frame for a particular action or process.)

On Sat, Jun 28, 2008 at 9:34 PM, Cathrene Connery <cconnery@ithaca.edu>
wrote:

> > Hi Andy and Mike,
> Holbrook Mahn wrote an interesting article(in the past 5 years or so) that
> you might enjoy regarding this topic. I can't remember the title, but I
> believe he is a member of the listserve and Vera might also recall.
> Best wishes,
> Cathrene
>
>
>
> Mike,
> > For sure the child is part of the Social Situation of
> > Development (SSD), and the SSD is "both inside and outside"
> > the child. But this still leaves a couple of big issues.
> >
> > We are not talking about a "social situation" in general,
> > but the child and his social relations under a very specific
> > concept, viz., the "situation", or "predicament" that the
> > child is in. In pt 2 v5 LSV on a number of cases uses the
> > term "emancipation." So what we have is some kind of logic
> > of a struggle for emancipation, which confronts a series of
> > "situations" or predicaments, which define the central line
> > of development for that age level. This "situation" is the
> > "essence" (in terms of The Pheneomenology, or "notion" in
> > terms of The Logic) of the child (i.e., as a member of a
> > human ensemble) at that point. The child is the subject of
> > this relation; it is the child which takes the active
> > position in every situation; without the child's
> > dissatisfaction with the situation and her striving to
> > emancipate themself from it, no development will occur; we
> > would have pathology.
> >
> > Put in terms I have raised earlier on this list, the child's
> > development is a project, a subject, of which the child is
> > the individual, but their own body is the relevant key
> > artefact which is being fashioned in the process and is the
> > center of our conception of this project as a "system of
> > activity," and the relations between the way in which the
> > child's needs are met and the child's psychological (and
> > biological) capacities are the particular. "Gestalt" is the
> > same thing, though we have a nesting of Gestalten here, as
> > the child remains, also, an individual in a community, their
> > particular social relations within a larger division of
> > labour and cultural traditions, etc., and the cultural
> > constellation of the community mediate every relation of the
> > child.
> >
> > The SSD with its central line of development, does not
> > exhaust the multiplicity of lines of development going on at
> > the same time. This logical problem is the same one which
> > leads us to call very different countries "capitalist" or
> > "industrialised." LSV's thesis is that there is one
> > activity, at any given point in the child's development,
> > which leads all the others, although at the same time
> > resting on those others. But I think this text in Vol 5 of
> > his CW represents an attempt to form a coherent concept of
> > child development, which means getting to the essence of
> > just one line of development at just one age level. This
> > concept is the child's predicament and their striving to
> > emancipate themselves from it and the specific psychological
> > function that matures as a result of this striving.
> >
> > Andy
> >
> > Mike Cole wrote:
> >> I am responding to the thread on the concept of SSD a while back which
> >> was contributed to by Elina and Bella. I am unsure of how best to
> >> position
> >> this contribution, as a response to that thread or to continue it as a
> >> new
> >> note because the message string became very long (as well as worthwhile)
> >> but
> >> I wanted to inquire into an early part of it. So this is an attempt to
> >> short
> >> circuit that process and see if it leads to mischief in recovering the
> >> meaning.
> >>
> >> Andy began by asking whether LSV had in mind the use of situation in the
> >> sense of a problematic situation (which Bella took to mean negative, but
> >> it could
> >> be positive- e.g., I really want to eat a ripe apricot from the tree in
> >> back yard right
> >> now but its so
> >> juicy I would have to stop typing, but I am really anxious to get this
> >> thought out. Two
> >> haystacks, so to speak). In reply, Elina wrote:
> >>
> >> Andy:
> >>
> >>> So would I be right Elina in thinking that Vygotsky has in mind
> >>> something
> >>> like a new relationship or arrangement of functions in the personality,
> >>> a
> >>> kind of new "configuration" of the whole? rather than a new function or
> >>> ability appearing as an additional element of the whole?
> >>>
> >>
> >> Elina:
> >> I believe so, at least it is my understanding, the development of new
> >> psychological function leads to a QUALITATIVE transformation of the
> >> whole
> >> system of relationships in the previously acquired functions.
> >>
> >> Maybe "configuration" is better than "formation." There is a lot of
> >> debate
> >> about how best top translate the German word "Gestalt" into English, and
> >> I
> >> have heard people say that "Configuration" or "formation" is better than
> >> "whole" which is now the usual translation in psychology. This is what
> >> is
> >> being referred to isn't it, a new "Gestalt"?
> >>
> >> I believe Vygotsky distinguished lower and higher psychological
> >> functions
> >> in their origins, structure, the way of functioning and the relation to
> >> other psychological functions.
> >>
> >>> So would I be right Elina in thinking that Vygotsky has in mind
> >>> something
> >>> like a new relationship or arrangement of functions in the personality,
> >>> a
> >>> kind of new "configuration" of the whole? rather than a new function or
> >>> ability appearing as an additional element of the whole?
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> I believe so, at least it is my understanding, the development of new
> >> psychological function leads to a QUALITATIVE transformation of the
> >> whole
> >> system of relationships in the previously acquired functions.
> >>
> >> Maybe "configuration" is better than "formation." There is a lot of
> >> debate
> >> about how best top translate the German word "Gestalt" into English, and
> >> I
> >> have heard people say that "Configuration" or "formation" is better than
> >> "whole" which is now the usual translation in psychology. This is what
> >> is
> >> being referred to isn't it, a new "Gestalt"?
> >>
> >> I believe Vygotsky distinguished lower and higher psychological
> >> functions
> >> in their origins, structure, the way of functioning and the relation to
> >> other psychological functions. By origins, most of the lower mental
> >> functions are genetically inherited, by structure they are unmediated,
> >> by
> >> functioning they are involuntary, and they are isolated from other
> >> functions. Higher psychological function is socially acquired, mediated,
> >> voluntarily controlled and exists as a relationship in a system of
> >> functions
> >> rather than as an isolated element.
> >> I am not an expert in Gestalt psychology, but I believe there is a claim
> >> that some universal structural laws are innate for human perception. If
> >> this
> >> is true, then it would be wrong to use the concept of Gestalt in
> >> reference
> >> to higher psychological functions.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >> 1. Andy-- Does your question about a "new function or ability" require
> >> and
> >> either/or answer? I am having trouble figure out what it would mean for
> >> understanding the process of change if it consisted of nothing
> >> other/more
> >> than rearrangements of what was already there. Perhaps the answer
> >> resides
> >> in the level of analysis, e.g. molecules are "nothing more" than
> >> arrangements of
> >> atoms and no new atoms have appeared (is this true?) since the big bang.
> >>
> >> Another way to come at this question would be to restrict ourselves to
> >> higher/
> >> culturally mediated, psychological functions. In that case, it seems
> >> that
> >> the answer
> >> would be "both/and." There is biological maturation (under environmental
> >> conditions
> >> that are themselves culturally conditioned) that enables the formation
> >> of
> >> new, higher,
> >> psychological functions. The acquisition of the ability to read might be
> >> taken as an example of this process;
> >> it requires both the maturation of various brain structures and
> >> culturally
> >> mediated practices that serve
> >> to coordinate them with each other and culturally evolved graphic signs
> >> so
> >> that they become meaningful
> >> in a new way resulting in and enabling new, other, higher psychological
> >> functions.
> >>
> >> 2. Elina -- I thought your formulation of the "natural/cultural" lines
> >> was
> >> really interesting and it got me to
> >> wondering. When you write:
> >> By origins, most of the lower mental
> >> functions are genetically inherited, by structure they are unmediated,
> >> by
> >> functioning they are involuntary, and they are isolated from other
> >> functions.
> >>
> >> I am wondering about all three parts of this nice summary. On the one
> >> hand,
> >> this makes me think I am simply
> >> repeating LSV without knowing it when I write about modularity and
> >> context,
> >> arguing for the interweaving of the two over the course of ontogeny. As
> >> ordinarily conceived, modules are isolated from each other, inherited,
> >> and
> >> impervious to experience. Wouldn't be odd to find Fodor and Vygotsky in
> >> the
> >> same configuration(so to speak)!!?
> >>
> >> 3. Andy/David et al. -- The child is part of the SSD, as I understand
> >> LSV.
> >> But at the same time, there is the idea of neoformations arising when a
> >> child is confronted with a new SSD. I feel like I need some sort of
> >> field
> >> reorganization to get my mind around both of these ideas at the same
> >> time!!
> >>
> >> (Apologies if this note is out of order and the answers lie somewhere in
> >> the
> >> mail that accumulated during my week's absence from email).
> >>
> >> mike
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> >> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
> >>
> >
> > --
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Andy Blunden http://home.mira.net/~andy/ <http://home.mira.net/%7Eandy/>+61 3 9380 9435
> > Skype andy.blunden
> >
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>
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-- 
Elina Lampert-Shepel
Assistant Professor
Graduate School of Education
Mercy College New Teacher Residency Program
Mercy College
66 West 35th Street
New York, NY 10001
(212) 615 3367
I have on my table a violin string. It is free. I twist one end of
it and it responds. It is free. But it is not free to do what a
violin string is supposed to do - to produce music. So I take it,
fix it in my violin and tighten it until it is taut. Only then it
is free to be a violin string.
Sir Rabindranath Tagore.
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