Perspectives on Activity TheoryYrjö Engeström, Reijo Miettinen, Raija-Leena Punamäki-Gitai 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 |
| 452 | |
Other editions - View all
Perspectives on Activity Theory Yrjö Engeström,Reijo Miettinen,Raija-Leena Punamäki No preview available - 1999 |
Common terms and phrases
5th Dimension Aarhus actions activity system activity theory adults analysis analyze Anthony Ryle approach artifacts aspects Bakhtin behavior Blissymbols Cambridge child classroom cognitive cognitive analytic therapy common sense communication concept of activity concrete construction context contradictions creative cultural cultural psychology cultural-historical Davydov developmental discussion Engeström example expansive learning experience Figure force field analysis formation function goals Gramsci Harvard University Hatchan Hedegaard Hiragana historical human activity ideas individual integration interaction internal knowledge labor language learning activity Leont'ev linguistic Luria Marx means mediated metaphor Moscow motives Nonaka and Takeuchi notion object object relations theory organization person perspective philosophy play practice problem procedures relations relationship role sentence situation social society speech structure syllables symbolic task teachers teaching theoretical tion transformation understanding University Press utterance Vantaa River Viking Age Vygotsky Vygotsky's Wertsch Winnicott's words
Popular passages
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.