Core Readings in Vygotsky's Cultural Historical Psychology

Catalog description

The Sociocultural or Cultural Historical theory of mind originated in the writings of Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky during the 1920s and 30s. Over the course of only about ten years, Vygotsky and his circle produced a substantial body of theoretical and empirical work that challenged basic epistemological and ontological premises of psychology and that outlined a new way of understanding human abilities and their development. The framework Vygotsky elaborated has come to be referred to as Cultural Historical psychology, emphasizing the fundamental role of mediation in shaping human psychology, mediation through historically created artifacts available in particular cultures and through forms of social interaction. In the decades since Vygotsky's death, Cultural Historical psychology has been further developed by researchers around the world who have brought Vygotsky's theoretical proposals to bear on questions and problems as diverse as special education, psychological and educational measurement, early childhood education, psycho-therapy, teacher education, linguistics and communication, adult and workforce education, and political and social change. The course is organized around carefully selected, seminal readings, emphasizing primary texts authored by Vygotsky but complemented by secondary sources generally regarded as leading interpretations. Beginning with an examination of Vygotsky's enterprise to establish a unified, scientific psychology grounded in Marxian dialectics (historical materialism), the course engages with concepts and principles definitive of Cultural Historical psychology that in some cases have become highly influential in a number of disciplines and that in others are only beginning to be understood. These include mediation, Zone of Proximal Development/ZPD (zona blizhaishego razvitia/ZBR), spontaneous and scientific concepts, teaching/learning-and-development (obuchenie), inner and private speech, units of analysis and meaning (znachenie/smysl), and perezhivanie, among others. In this way, students obtain a deep understanding of the theory, both in the context of Vygotsky's own writings and the specific problems he sought to address but also in its contemporary applications. This understanding, in turn, enables students to critically evaluate uses of Vygotsky's ideas in their particular area of study while also providing the background necessary to employ the theory in their own research. The course is intended for students in all areas of education, human development, and applied linguistics. No previous knowledge of Vygotsky's work is required.