An Interdisciplinary Theory of Activity

An Interdisciplinary Theory of Activity

Author: Andy Blunden

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 9004184066

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A critical review of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, the psychology originating from Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934). Tracing its roots in Goethe, Hegel and Marx, the author builds a concept of activity transcending the division between individual and social domains in human sciences.


Perspectives on Activity Theory

Perspectives on Activity Theory

Author: Yrjö Engeström

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1999-01-13

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 9780521437301

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Activity theory is an interdisciplinary approach to human sciences that originates in the cultural-historical psychology school, initiated by Vygotsky, Leont'ev, and Luria. It takes the object-oriented, artifact-mediated collective activity system as its unit of analysis, thus bridging the gulf between the individual subject and the societal structure. This 1999 volume includes 26 chapters on activity theory by authors from ten countries. In Part I of the book, central theoretical issues are discussed from different points of view. Some topics addressed in this part are epistemology, methodology, and the relationship between biological and cultural factors. Part II is devoted to the acquisition and development of language. This part includes a chapter that analyzes writing activity in Japanese classrooms, and a case study of literacy skills of a man with cerebral palsy. Part III contains chapters on play, learning, and education, and Part IV addresses the meaning of technology and the development of work activities. The final part covers issues of therapy and addiction.


Context and Consciousness

Context and Consciousness

Author: Bonnie A. Nardi

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 9780262140584

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This work brings together a collection of 13 contributions that apply activity theory - a psychological theory with a naturalistic emphasis - to problems of human-computer interaction. It presents activity theory as a means of structuring and guiding field studies of human-computer interaction.


Interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity

Author: Julie Thompson Klein

Publisher: Wayne State University Press

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780814320884

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In this volume, Julie Klein provides the first comprehensive study of the modern concept of interdisciplinarity, supplementing her discussion with the most complete bibliography yet compiled on the subject. In this volume, Julie Klein provides the first comprehensive study of the modern concept of interdisciplinarity, supplementing her discussion with the most complete bibliography yet compiled on the subject. Spanning the social sciences, natural sciences, humanities, and professions, her study is a synthesis of existing scholarship on interdisciplinary research, education and health care. Klein argues that any interdisciplinary activity embodies a complex network of historical, social, psychological, political, economic, philosophical, and intellectual factors. Whether the context is a short-ranged instrumentality or a long-range reconceptualization of the way we know and learn, the concept of interdisciplinarity is an important means of solving problems and answering questions that cannot be satisfactorily addressed using singular methods or approaches.


Hegel for Social Movements

Hegel for Social Movements

Author: Andy Blunden

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-06-17

Total Pages: 301

ISBN-13: 9004395849

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Hegel for Social Movements by Andy Blunden is an introduction to the reading of Hegel intended for those already active in social movements. It introduces Hegel’s ideas in a way which will be useful for those fighting for social change, and while some familiarity with philosophy would be an advantage for the reader, the main pre-requisite is a commitment to the practical pursuit of ideal aims. The book covers the whole sweep of Hegel’s writing, but focuses particularly on the Logic and Hegel’s social theory – the Philosophy of Right. Blunden brings to his exposition an original interpretation of Hegel’s Logic as the logic of social change, utilizing his expertise in Vygotsky’s cultural psychology and Soviet Activity Theory.


Collaborative Projects

Collaborative Projects

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2014-06-05

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 9004261222

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Collaborative Projects - An Interdisciplinary Study presents research in disciplines ranging from Education, Psychotherapy and Social Work to Literacy and anti-poverty Project Management to Social Movement studies and Political Science. All the contributions are unified by use of the concept of 'project'. 'Project' is 'leading activity' for Child Development, whilst 'life project' may play a crucial role in personal development and Psychotherapy; the social fabric of a community can be understood as woven from projects which may be sustained by NGOs, or develop from social movements to institutions. Giving concrete content to the concept of 'project' in each domain of research, opens a prospect of a genuinely interdisciplinary human science. Contributors are: Igor Arievitch, Michael Arnold, Lynn Beaton, William Blanton, Andy Blunden, Michael Cole, Brecht De Smet, Natalia Gajdamaschko, Virginia Gordon, Manfred Holodynski, Naja Berg Hougaard, Vera John-Steiner, Elena Kravtsova, Gennadiy Kravtsov, Ron Lubensky, Morten Nissen, Jennifer Power, Mike Rifino, Keiko Matsuura, Francisco Medina, Anna Stetsenko, Greg Thompson, Chiel van der Veen, Eduardo Vianna, Lynne Wolbert, and Helena Worthen.


Activity Theory in Education

Activity Theory in Education

Author: Dilani S. P. Gedera

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-12-22

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9463003878

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Activity Theory in Education: Research and Practice brings together cutting-edge scholars from a number of continents. Through in-depth case studies the authors highlight how Activity Theory is used in education and discuss the theoretical as well as pragmatic use of Activity Theory frameworks in a range of contemporary learning contexts. The first section of the book focuses on empirical research on using Activity Theory in analysing students’ and teachers’ experiences of learning and teaching in face-to-face and online learning contexts. The second section contains insights in identifying historical and systemic tensions in educational contexts using Activity Theory. The third section discusses conceptual and contextual aspects of educational contexts through Activity Theory, and Section four discusses the application of Activity Theory in understanding teachers’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge and curriculum development. In spite of the widespread and rapidly increasing use of Activity Theory in educational research, few collections of this work are available. Activity Theory in Education: Research and Practice is such a much needed collection of practical experiences, theoretical insights and empirical research findings on the use of Activity Theory in educational settings.” – Yrjö Engeström, Centre for Research on Activity, Development and Learning (CRADLE), The University of Helsinki.


Hegel, Marx and Vygotsky

Hegel, Marx and Vygotsky

Author: Andy Blunden

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-11-08

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 9004470972

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Andy Blunden’s Hegel Marx & Vygotsky, Essays in Social Philosophy uses a series of essays to demonstrate how the cultural psychology of Lev Vygotsky and the Soviet Activity Theorists can be used to renew Hegelian Marxism as an interdisciplinary science.


The Origins of Collective Decision Making

The Origins of Collective Decision Making

Author: Andy Blunden

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 9004319638

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In The Origins of Collective Decision Making, Andy Blunden identifies three paradigms of collective decision making – Counsel, Majority and Consensus, discovers their origins in traditional, medieval and modern times, and traces their evolution over centuries up to the present. The study reveals that these three paradigms have an ethical foundation, deeply rooted in historical experiences. The narrative takes the reader into the very moments when individual leaders and organisers made the crucial developments in white heat of critical moments in history, such as the English Revolution of the 1640s, the Chartist Movement of the 1840s and the early Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. This history provides a valuable resource for resolving current social movement conflict over decision making.