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psychology and problems of translation The future development of Vygotskian science Using Vygotsky’s published and unpublished writings the authors present a detailed historical understanding of Vygotsky’s thought, and the circumstances in which he worked.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.

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psychology and problems of translation The future development of Vygotskian science Using Vygotsky’s published and unpublished writings the authors present a detailed historical understanding of Vygotsky’s thought, and the circumstances in which he worked.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.

This accessible collection of essays critically examines Vygotsky’s scientific legacy. The book is solidly grounded in the "revisionist revolution" context and encourages constructive questioning of Vygotsky’s theory of human development. It tackles thought-provoking issues such as the true value of his scholarship, the possible falsification of his scientific legacy, and the role of political factors and the Communist parties in the worldwide dissemination of his work. It is essential reading on Vygotskian psychology and of interest to students and researchers in developmental psychology, history of psychology, history of science, Soviet/Russian history, philosophical science and education.

This book consists of previously unpublished manuscripts by Vygotsky found in the first systematic study of Vygotsky’s family archive. The notebooks and scientific diaries gathered in this volume represent all periods of Vygotsky’s scientific life, beginning with the earliest manuscript, entitled The tragicomedy of strivings (1912), and ending with his last note, entitled Pro domo sua (1934), written shortly before his death. The notes reveal unknown aspects of the eminent psychologist’s personality, show his aspirations and interests, and allow us to gain insights into the development of his thinking and its internal dynamics. Several texts reflect the plans that Vygotsky was unable to realize during his lifetime, such as the creation of a theory of emotions and a theory of consciousness, others reveal Vygotsky’s involvement in activities that were previously unknown, and still others provide outlines of papers and lectures. The notes are presented in chronological order, preceded by brief introductions and accompanied by an extensive set of notes. The result is a book that allows us to obtain a much deeper understanding of Vygotsky’s innovative ideas.

This important book fills two interrelated gaps in the field of psychology, first by developing a Marxist orientation to psychology and second by explaining how psychological pioneer Lev Vygotsky contributed greatly to this trend. Through outlining core principles in Marxist psychology, the book offers a framework for continuing Vygotsky’s Marxist legacy in new areas of the field. This book first documents the neglect in Vygotskyian studies of his deep use of Marxist concepts, and then subsequent chapters overcome this neglect. They explain the use of many Marxist concepts in his theoretical and methodological writings, demonstrating how Vygotsky utilized specific Marxist meanings in his work on consciousness, signs, development, imagination, creativity, secondary language acquisition, and unit of analysis. Chapters also address how Vygotsky dealt with incompatible theories and methodologies, illustrating how Marxist and Vygotskyian psychology can grow from anti-Marxist, anti-Vygotskyian approaches to psychology, such as psychoanalysis. This book marks an original contribution to the field of psychology, offering a new understanding of both Vygotsky’s work and cultural and Marxist psychology. Furthermore, it expands the field of Marxism to include psychology. It will be of interest to all students and researchers of cultural, educational, and developmental psychology as well as the history of psychology. It will also appeal to social theorists and Marxist scholars.

– The most famous Russian psychologist, whose life and ideas are least known? – A pioneer of psychology who said virtually nothing new? – A simple man who became a genius after he died? This fundamentally novel intellectual biography offers a 21st-century account of the life and times of Lev Vygotsky, who has long been considered a pioneer in the field of learning and human development. The diverse Vygotskian literature has created many distinct images of this influential scientist, which has led many researchers to attempt to unearth ‘the real Vygotsky’. Rather than join this quest to over-simplify Vygotsky’s legacy, this book attempts to understand the development of ‘the multiple Vygotskies’ by exploring a number of personae that Vygotsky assumed at different periods of his life. Based on the most recent archival, textological and historical investigations in original, uncensored Russian, the author presents a ground-breaking account that is far from the shiny success story that is typically associated with ‘the cult of Vygotsky’. This book will be an essential contribution to Vygotskian scholarship and of interest to advanced students and researchers in history of psychology, history of science, Soviet/Russian history, philosophical psychology, and philosophy of science.

The Proceedings of the International Conference on “Historical-Cultural Theory: studies and research” are published in this volume. The event, supported by a grant from the Sapienza, University of Rome, took place at the Rectorat, Aula Organi Collegiali, on February the 25th, 2020, on organization by G. Benvenuto and M.S. Veggetti. The invited speakers are among the most representative scholars and interpreters of Vygotskian thought at the national and international level. They are representative of different prestigious universities: Moscow State University for Psychology and Education; University of Sevilla, Spain; La Habana, Cuba; University of Florence, Italy; Sapienza, University of Rome; University of Arcavacata di Rende (CS), followers of the Historical-cultural trend in Psychology and/or the Activity Theory Approach - by L.S.Vygotskij, A.R. Lurija, A.N.Leont’ev, V.V.Davydov, V.V.Rubtzov. They are actually involved in research expanding a multicultural approach to psycho-pedagogical development and learning. Main purpose: revisit the Historical-cultural and Activity Approaches to face the XXI century’s new educational and instructional needs. Consequently, the issues present further developments of the psycho-pedagogical approaches in different countries in the frame of internationalization and joint cooperation.

This book takes up where L. S. Vygotsky has left off during the last few months of his life, when he renounced much of what he had done before. A month before Vygotsky died, he wrote in his notebook that he felt like Moses who had seen the promised land but was never allowed to set foot on it. The vision Vygotsky laid out during his final days had been influenced by his readings of the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza and a book by Karl Marx published for the first time a year before Vygotsky died. In the present book, the author lays out a view of mathematics based on a monist view of knowing, learning, and development. Just as the essence of what is specifically human, the mathematics of mathematics exists in the ensemble of societal relations. For the individual, this means that mathematical thinking and reasoning was a society-typical relation with another person first, often the teacher. Using data from a variety of situations, including school students as well as scientists, the book develops some fundamental concepts and categories for mathematics education research, including the thinking body, sociogenesis, the intra-intersubjective field, pereživanie (experience), obučenie (teaching | learning), and drama.

An illuminating and original collection of essays on 20th century Russian psychology, offering unparalleled coverage of the scholarship of Vygotsky and his peers. Yasnitsky et al. challenge our assumptions about the history of Soviet science and the nature of Soviet Marxism and its influence on psychological thinking. He significantly broadens the discussion around Vygotsky’s life and work and its historical context, applying theories of other notable thinkers such as Alexander Luria and the much-neglected philosopher/psychologist Sergei Rubinstein, alongside key movements in history, such as the pedology and psychohygiene. A diverse range of researchers from countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Russian Federation, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the UK, give this book a truly global outlook. This is an important and insightful text for undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars interested in the history of psychology and science, social and cultural history of Russia and Eastern Europe, Marxism, and Soviet politics.