[xmca] MCA Call for papers: Psychology of Emotions and Cultural Historical Activity Theory

[Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net>]

Mind, Culture, and Activity: An International Journal*
*Call for Papers

Special issue on “Psychology of Emotions and Cultural Historical 
Activity Theory”

DEADLINES
Abstracts submission: March 15, 2011
Manuscripts submission: September 15, 2011

Guest Editor: Manfred Holodynski 
<mailto:manfred.holodynski@uni-muenster.de> (Westfälische 
Wilhelms-Universität Münster)

Emotions are essential to human existence and experience. Not 
surprisingly, their nature has been a major subject of inquiry for 
philosophers (from Aristotle to Spinoza and Sartre), psychologists (from 
James to Lazarus and Ekman), and biologists (from Darwin to Trivers and 
Damasio). In several moments of his work, Vygotsky himself showed a 
conceptual curiosity for human emotions. At the end of his life, 
Vygotsky devoted one of his /Lectures on Psychology/ (1932) to the topic 
of emotions, whose major theses were elaborated at length in /The 
Teaching about Emotions/ (1931-1933). In these works, Vygotsky discussed 
in detail the major conceptual trends and tensions in the literature of 
his time, indirectly advancing his own position. Vygotsky called for the 
realization of the "intimate connection and dependency that exists 
between the development of the emotions and the development of other 
aspects of mental life" (/Lectures on Psychology/, 1932/1987, p. 332). 
He criticized both the views that reduce emotions to the remnants of 
instinctive reactions and the views, such as James', that strip emotions 
from consciousness. Instead, Vygotsky advanced a perspective on emotions 
as processes in close connection with culture and the higher 
achievements of human kind (such as art and aesthetics), and "within the 
same structure as the other mental processes" (1932/1987, p. 226). 
Vygotsky also called for a developmental stance on emotions that would 
underscore their change over time in the context of social interaction. 
In /On the Problem of the Psychology of the Actor’s Creative Work 
/(1932/1999), Vygotsky argued:

Like all other mental functions, emotions do not remain in the 
connection in which they are given initially by virtue of the biological 
organization of the mind. In the process of social life, feelings 
develop and former connections disintegrate; emotions appear in new 
relations with other elements of mental life, new systems develop, new 
alloys of mental functions and unities of a higher order appear within 
which special patterns, interdependencies, special forms of connection 
and movement are dominant.

The landscape of theories of emotions has changed since Vygotsky's days. 
There have been several revisions of the James-Lange theory, which has 
been central in the literature on emotions and to which Vygotsky paid 
great deal of attention. Yet, the questions underlying many of the 
classical theories are not sufficiently answered. Tensions between 
biological views and psychological ones still remain; questions about 
the universality of emotions are still controversial; and analysis of 
emotions in tandem/ /with some psychological processes, such as 
motivation and volition, are unfortunately rare.

This special issue addresses in different ways cultural historical 
perspectives on the psychology of emotions and emotion development. 
Contributions are sought that investigate, from a cultural historical 
perspective, the genesis of emotions in the context of social practice, 
the relationship between emotions and other psychological functions, and 
the cultural and historical variations of emotions. If your work has 
important implications for characterizing emotions and the way they 
contribute to the organization of people’s mind and lives, we would like 
to encourage you to submit an article for consideration. We are 
especially interested in articles that illuminate the relationship of 
emotions to the three categories that are on the journal's masthead 
(mind, culture, and activity). We encourage potential contributors to 
look back over prior issues of MCA to see what topics have been visited 
and especially how the authors' work contributes to the problematics of 
MCA.

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS

Potential contributors should first submit an abstract of their 
manuscript. Abstracts should be up to 500 words in length. Selected 
abstracts will be then asked to submit manuscripts up to 8,000 words in 
length. Manuscripts will be subject to peer review process. Manuscripts 
should be prepared according to the /Publication Manual of the American 
Psychological Association /(5th ed.) For further information and 
abstract submission, please write to contactmca@lchc.ucsd.edu 
<mailto:contactmca@lchc.ucsd.edu>_.* *_

*Please circulate as widely as possible*


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