RE: [xmca] Might we pause to consider? Imitation and the Zoped

[Peter Smagorinsky <smago@uga.edu>]

Mike said:
In both the coaching example, and an example such as a mother imitating a
child blowing bubbles in the bathtub, who imitates the mother imitating
him/her, the process of imitation cannot be exactly the same for the two
partners. How is the difference (how are the differences?) best
characterized?

My view:

I imagine it's all a function of what the goal of the action is. If it's to produce laughter, the mom might modify the child's expression with one intended to surprise. If it's to teach proper bubble blowing, then the imitation of improper technique might be accompanied by a corrective expression, followed by a proper method.

Based on what I've learned from M. Cole, I'd say additionally that these actions do not occur in a vacuum but are culturally and historically mediated. So an old Puritan household might not promote laughter in something as serious as getting clean. I don't want to belabor this point with endless additional examples, but hope that this brief illustration suffices for the point that the differences are best characterized locally, in terms of immediate goals situated within cultural-historical practice.
__________________________________________
_____
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca