This volume contains a sample of articles on developmental psychology that have appeared in Soviet psychology over the past 15 years. The articles represent a much great time span of developmental psychology in the Soviet Union, beginning wth classic papers by Denisova and Figurin published in the mid-1920s.
John Parrington argues that social interaction and culture have deeply shaped the exceptional nature of human consciousness. The mental capacities of the human mind far outstrip those of other animals. Our imaginations and creativity have produced art, music, and literature; built bridges and cathedrals; enabled us to probe distant galaxies, and to ponder the meaning of our existence. When our minds become disordered, they can also take us to the depths of despair. What makes the human brain unique, and able to generate such a rich mental life? In this book, John Parrington draws on the latest research on the human brain to show how it differs strikingly from those of other animals in its structure and function at a molecular and cellular level. And he argues that this 'shift', enlarging the brain, giving it greater flexibility and enabling higher functions such as imagination, was driven by tool use, but especially by the development of one remarkable tool - language. The complex social interaction brought by language opened up the possibility of shared conceptual worlds, enriched with rhythmic sounds, and images that could be drawn on cave walls. This transformation enabled modern humans to leap rapidly beyond all other species, and generated an exceptional human consciousness, a sense of self that arises as a product of our brain biology and the social interactions we experience. Our minds, even those of identical twins, are unique because they are the result of this extraordinarily plastic brain, exquisitely shaped and tuned by the social and cultural environment in which we grew up and to which we continue to respond through life. Linking early work by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky to the findings of modern neuroscience, Parrington explores how language, culture, and society mediate brain function, and what this view of the human mind may bring to our understanding and treatment of mental illness.
Revisionist Revolution in Vygotsky Studies brings together recent critical investigations which examine historical and textual inaccuracies associated with received understandings of Vygotsky’s work. By deconstructing the Vygotskian narrative, the authors debunk the 'cult of Vygotsky', allowing for a new, exciting interpretation of the logic and direction of his theory. The chapters cover a number of important themes, including: The chronology of Vygotsky’s ideas and theory development, and the main core of his theoretical writings Relationships between Vygotskians and their Western colleagues The international reception of Vygotskian psychology and problems of translation The future development of Vygotskian science Using Vygotsky’s published and unpublished writings the authors present a detailed historical understanding of Vygotsky’s thought, and the circumstances in which he worked. It includes coverage of the organization of academic psychology in the Soviet Union, the network of scholars associated with Vygotsky in the interwar period, and the assumed publication ban on Vygotsky’s writings. This volume is the first to provide an overview of revisionist studies of Vygotsky’s work, and is the product of close international collaboration between revisionist scholars. It will be an essential contribution to Vygotskian scholarship, and of great interest to researchers in the history of psychology, history of science, Soviet/Russian history, philosophical psychology and philosophy of science.
The scope of individual learner differences is broad, yet there is no current, comprehensive, and unified volume that provides an overview of the considerable amount of research conducted on various language learner differences, until now.
Earth is ruled by master-machines but the Three Laws of Robotics have been designed to ensure humans maintain the upper hand: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. But what happens when a rogue robot's idea of what is good for society contravenes the Three Laws?
This book presents a collection of essays in seven academic disciplines on the topic of international perspectives in those academic fields. The disciplines represented are geography, history, political science, sociology, psychology, journalism and mass communication, and philosophy. The book includes the following essays: "Higher Education, International Education, and the Academic Disciplines" (Sven Groennings); "Geography and International Knowledge" (Association of American Geographers); "Culture and Nationality" (Marvin W. Mikesell); "Technology as a Central Theme for World History" (L. S. Stavrianos); "Commonly Articulated Goals for World History Courses" (Kevin Reilly); "Politics: American and Non-American" (Suzanne Berger); "Cutting Across the Institutional Grain: the Study of Political Parties" (Leon D. Epstein); "How Can We Get There from Here? Thoughts on the Integration of American and Comparative Politics" (Susanne Hoeber Rudolph; Lloyd I. Rudolph); "The Bifurcation of American and Non-American Perspectives in Foreign Policy" (Ole R. Holsti); "Teaching International Relations to American Students" (George H. Quester); "Teaching How to Ask Questions about International Relations" (Robert O. Keohane); "Sociology's Great Leap Forward: The Challenge of Internationalization" (Edward A. Tiryakian); "Sociology for Undergraduates: Social Systems as World Systems, World Systems as Historical Systems" (Immanuel Wallerstein); "The Deparochialization of American Sociology" (J. Michael Armer); "Cross-Cultural Psychology" (Harry C. Triandis; Richard W. Brislin); "Psychology in Its World Context" (Roger W. Russell); "American Psychologists and Psychology Abroad" (Virginia Staudt Sexton; Henryk Misiak); "Annotated Bibliography of Materials to Add an International Dimension to Undergraduate Courses in Developmental and Social Psychology" (Judith Torney-Purta); "Integrating International Perspectives into the Research Methods Course" (L. John Martin); "Covering the World from Villages" (Richard Critchfield); "Learning from African Models" (Sharon M. Murphy; James F. Scotton); "The Case of the Athenian Stranger: Philosophy and World Citizenship" (Peter Caws); "Reflections on the Mutual Benefits of Philosophical and Global Education" (Anita Silvers); "Overcoming Ethnocentrism in the Philosophy Classroom" (Ofelia Schutte); "Socrates, Meet the Buddha" (David A. Hoekema); and "A Bibliography: International Perspectives in the Undergraduate Curriculum." (DB)