Perspectives on Activity Theory

Front Cover
Yrjö Engeström, Reijo Miettinen, Raija-Leena Punamäki-Gitai
Cambridge University Press, Jan 13, 1999 - Psychology - 462 pages
Activity theory is an interdisciplinary approach to human sciences that originates in the cultural-historical psychology school of thought, intitiated by Vygotsky, Leont'ev and Luria. Activity theory 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 volume is the first comprehensive presentation of contemporary work in activity theory, with twenty-six original chapters by authors from ten countries. The first part of the book discusses central theoretical issues, and the second part is devoted to the acquisition and development of language. Part Three contains chapters on play, learning, and education, and Part Four addresses the meaning of new technology and the development of work activities. The final section covers issues of therapy and addiction.
 

Contents

Activity theory and individual and social transformation
19
The content and unsolved problems of activity theory
39
Knowledge as shared procedures
53
Activity theory in a new era
65
Society versus context in individual development Does theory make a difference?
70
Cultural psychology Some general principles and a concrete example
87
Laws logics and human activity
107
Collapse creation and continuity in Europe How do people change?
115
Activity formation as an alternative strategy of instruction
264
Activity theory and history teaching
282
Didactic models and the problem of intertextuality and polyphony
298
Metaphor and learning activity
314
Transcending traditional school learning Teachers work and networks of learning
325
The theory of activity changed by information technology
347
Activity theory transformation of work and information systems design
360
Innovative learning in work teams Analyzing cycles of knowledge creation in practice
377

Activity theory and the concept of integrative levels
133
The relevance to psychology of Antonio Gramscis ideas on activity and common sense
147
The expanded dialogic sphere Writing activity and authoring of self in Japanese classrooms
165
Improvement of schoolchildrens reading and writing ability through the formation of linguistic awareness
183
Psychomotor and socioemotional processes in literacy acquisition Results of an ongoing case study involving a nonvocal cerebral palsic young man
206
Play and motivation
231
Drama games with 6yearold children Possibilities and limitations
250
Object relations theory and activity theory A proposed link by way of the procedural sequence model
407
The concept of sign in the work of Vygotsky Winnicott and Bakhtin Further integration of object relations theory and activity theory
419
From addiction to selfgovernance
435
Author index
445
Subject index
452
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Page 3 - The chief defect of all hitherto existing materialism — that of Feuerbach included — is that the thing, reality, sensuousness, is conceived only in the form of the object or of contemplation, but not as human sensuous activity, practice, not subjectively.
Page 3 - The materialist doctrine concerning the changing of circumstances and upbringing forgets that circumstances are changed by men and that it is essential to educate the educator himself. This doctrine must, therefore, divide society into two parts, one of which is superior to society.

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