This book consists of previously unpublished manuscripts by Vygotsky found in the first systematic study of Vygotsky’s family archive.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 is the first book in English to show how the work of Lev Vygotsky gave rise to a prolific and original school of cultural-historical psychology in Latin America. In recent decades, Latin American researchers have expanded Vygotskyan conceptualizations and applied practical theory to psychological and educational research and practice, but until now this production remained virtually unknown for English speaking audiences since it has been mainly published in Spanish and Portuguese. This timely volume contributes to change this situation by presenting a panoramic picture of the state of the art of cultural-historical psychology in Latin America. The book is divided in two parts. The first part shows how Latin American researchers used Vygotsky’s work to develop new theoretical elaborations and empirical advances to deal with different political, social and cultural problems in the region. The second part presents an overview of the current state of cultural-historical psychology in Latin America. Throughout its 15 chapters, the book shows how Latin American researchers contributed to the studies of different aspects of the cultural-historical theoretical conception of the development of higher psychological functions, such as concept formation, inner speech, zone of proximal development and imagination, and how these theoretical elaborations have been applied to research and practice in fields such as sociocultural psychology, developmental psychology, psychotherapy and education in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico. Latin American Advances in Subjectivity and Development - Through the Vygotsky Route will be an invaluable resource to researchers, students and practitioners in the fields of psychology, education and other social sciences interested in discovering or learning more about the original Latin American school of cultural-historical psychology.

This book is an exploration of science in the making. It offers readers the opportunity to critically reflect on the process of development of Vygotsky's research program from the perspective of dialectics, focusing on the dramatic process of building and rebuilding cultural historical theory. Vygotsky's creative and dramatic journey is no less important than the concrete results of his research. An epistemological and historical investigation of the formulation of cultural historical theory sheds light on the process of knowledge production and reveals hidden dimensions of creativity in science.

This book examines key ideas related to the Theory of Subjectivity within a cultural-historical approach. It brings together the intellectual contributions made by Professor Fernando González Rey (1949–2019) towards understanding human subjectivity, and emphasizing their unfolding in different fields and contexts. The book addresses the genesis and development of González Rey’s work, articulating this discussion with the author’s biography. González Rey’s main scientific contribution is the Theory of Subjectivity in a cultural-historical perspective, which is inseparable from Qualitative Epistemology and from its constructive-interpretive methodological expression. The book presents and discusses González Rey’s contributions to different contexts and fields, such as psychological research, education, cultural-historical psychology, human development, motivation, human health and psychotherapy. This book brings together examples of how these ideas have been employed and developed in different fields and contexts.

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 book provides both a lost last word and a firm first foundation: seven lectures, given in the last months in the life of the Soviet thinker, teacher, and writer L.S. Vygotsky, offer us the most comprehensive and developed form of his thoughts on the child, expressed in the most fundamental and even popular form that Vygotsky himself used with his beginner-level students. As the title of Vygotsky’s course indicates, these are foundations upon which cultural-historical researchers can rebuild the lost science of “pedology”, a holistic approach to child development based on the dynamic unity of physical and mental development. Volume One includes translations of seven of Vygotsky’s lectures that reflect his approach to pedology; the method of pedology and the “methodics” of the unit of analysis; the role of heredity and social environment in child development; and general laws of development in childhood that will help parents and teachers understand the way the child’s endocrine system, nervous system, and mind change as the child enters a culture and learns to make history.

L. S. Vygotsky and English in Education and the Language Arts focuses on the hugely significant contributions of L. S. Vygotsky to research, theory, and practice in English and the Language Arts, exploring the relevance of Vygotsky’s works for today’s teachers and researchers. Drawing on his 30 years of study, Smagorinsky interprets Vygotsky in relation to literacy education, teacher education, special education, and how life outside school has an impact on how people function within them. This insightful and accessible text firstly explores Vygotsky’s early life to situate him historically and culturally and goes on to trace his understanding of human psychology as it relates to the social contexts of schools and pupils’ lives at home. Vygotsky’s pedagogical ideas are then discussed in depth, with specific attention on the role of emotions, the zone of proximal development, expanding textuality beyond writing, and his belief in the primacy of socialization. This book illuminates new areas of understanding, and challenges common perceptions available through limited and selective readings, establishing Vygotsky as a complex developmental psychologist rather than a classroom practitioner. With points for discussion and reflection provided throughout, this text will be invaluable for student teachers, teachers, and academics in the field of English and the Language Arts.

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.

This open access book introduces the legacy of Piotr Galperin to a wider audience of researchers, educators and psychologists. Previous translations of Galperin’s work present only some aspects of his conceptual thinking; however, his main contribution to the general, genetic and pedagogical psychology as a unique holistic and systemic approach to studying of psychological phenomena and processes, mechanisms of their formation and development, is still quite unknown in most parts of the world. The eight lectures chosen for the book have been translated from Russian for the first time, and they belong to the Study of the Formation of Human Mental Activity from Galperin’s collection of the Lectures in Psychology (Galperin, 2002). These eight lectures present the central ideas of Galperin’s pedagogical theory, and they conceptualise learning to learn approach and argue how teaching and learning process can enhance the development of higher mental functions with learners and therefore enhance the development of students as learners. These ideas may be of primary importance to educational practitioners and researchers interested in developmental learning and teaching approach given the current concerns of educational practice that schools struggle to prepare students for their adult and the need to develop the capacity in lifelong learning with students in the 21st century.