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Re: [xmca] Re: Knotworking (ex: Double stimulation?)



Yes, there is no doubt that the commitment many people have to continuing the work of their parents and even ancestors, and their investment in their children, evidences a project, an archetypal project in fact. "Voluntary associations" are historically a relatively recent invention, prior to which kinship was possibly the most significant project in human life. Of course, it is not always the case that a kinship relation always indicates the relevance of the concept of "project" - I have cousins whom I have never met and to whom I have no commitment whatsoever.

Andy

carolmacdon@gmail.com wrote:
Kinship is a project as its a relationship. Carol
Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Thompson <greg.a.thompson@gmail.com>
Sender: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu
Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 07:52:07 To: Andy Blunden<ablunden@mira.net>; eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity<xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Reply-To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
Subject: Re: [xmca] Re: Knotworking (ex: Double stimulation?)

Andy,
So would you say that "kinship" implicates projects (or that it IS a
project)?
Or that "projects" instantiate kinship (i.e. they are the basis for
kinship)?
Or both?
Or neither?
-greg



On Fri, Jun 21, 2013 at 5:50 PM, Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net> wrote:

I most certainly appreciate this use of the concept of "project", Greg.
This is one of the main lines of enquiry opened up by the concept of
"project", as a foundational concept for *social theory*: the myriad ways
in which different projects - form alliances, subsume one another,
"colonise" other projects, enter into relations of mutual exchange or
cooperation-while-remaining-**independent (hiring each other or buying
and selling each others' products), or collaborate normatively with one
another, generate new, mutually meaningful objects or ideals, enter into
mortal conflict or merge with one another, etc. In fact, as "project" is
intended as a *unit* of human social life (as well as a fruitful concept
for psychology), it is precisely this "algebra" of contcatination, or
"knotworking" if you will, which is opened up by taking the project as a
unit rather than a system concept.

Andy


Greg Thompson wrote:

Antti,

I see that in the case described (of the librarians), the concept of
"knotworking" is a largely intentional (although not always controllable)
concept.

But I also see in Engestrom's earlier piece, When the Center Does Not
Hold,
that knotworking is used as an etic concept, that is a concept used by him
and his colleagues to describe what people are doing. As such, it seems
like this kind of knot-working is somewhat less intentional or - maybe
better - less explicit. It is something that people are doing without
knowing it (to paraphrase Marx via Zizek).

Both usages of knotworking seem very productive and useful.

With regard to knotworking, I would like to suggest other, more
traditional
forms of knotworking, such as kinship and gift-giving. The practices that
surround kinship and gift-giving are crucial for imbricating persons with
each others projects (to use Andy's concept in a way that he might or
might
not appreciate...).

And, of course, despite our thoughts to the contrary, kinship and
gift-giving still play an important role in the here and now of hospitals
and libraries.

-greg


On Fri, Jun 14, 2013 at 2:44 PM, Antti Rajala <ajrajala@gmail.com> wrote:



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*Andy Blunden*
Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/
Book: http://www.brill.nl/concepts
http://marxists.academia.edu/AndyBlunden

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