Vygotsky in Perspective
Cambridge University Press, 4/14/2011
EAN 9781107001862, ISBN10: 1107001862
Hardcover, 466 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
Lev Vygotsky has acquired the status of one of the grand masters in psychology. Following the English translation and publication of his Collected Works there has been a new wave of interest in Vygotsky, accompanied by a burgeoning of secondary literature. Ronald Miller argues that Vygotsky is increasingly being 'read' and understood through secondary sources and that scholars have claimed Vygotsky as the foundational figure for their own theories, eliminating his most distinctive contributions and distorting his theories. Miller peels away the accumulated layers of commentary to provide a clearer understanding of how Vygotsky built and developed his arguments. In an in-depth analysis of the last three chapters of Vygotsky's book Thinking and Speech, Miller provides a critical interpretation of the core theoretical concepts that constitute Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory, including the development of concepts, mediation, the zone of proximal development, conscious awareness, inner speech, word meaning and consciousness.
1. Introduction
2. A thematic overview
Part I. Vygotsky at Home
3. The development of concepts
4. The development of scientific concepts
5. The development of scientific concepts
critique
6. Thought and word
Part II. Vygotsky in America
7. Michael Cole
artifact mediated action - setting the record straight
8. James V. Wertsch
cultural tools and mediated action - getting it wrong
9. James V. Wertsch
mediation and the zone of proximal development
10. The essential commentators
Part III. Vygotsky over the Rainbow
11. Vygotsky
mediation.
Advance praise: 'You do not need to agree with all Miller's claims and criticisms in order to appreciate his deep understanding of Vygotsky's original texts. Vygotsky in Perspective is required reading for everyone interested in Vygotsky's theory of consciousness.' Alex Kozulin, International Institute for the Enhancement of Learning Potential