Cultural-historical School Research Articles

Social Constructionism: Critical Analysis from a Vygotskian Perspective

Social constructionism is an influential current of thought that has a strong impact on several fields of social sciences. However, some versions of social constructionism suggest implications that are questionable to many researchers: for instance, there is no reference to an objective reality; there are no criteria to discover the truth or to distinguish the true from the false; and science is merely a tradition among other traditions, such as religion. This essay argues that Marxist psychology and especially Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky’s cultural-historical school can contribute to a dialectical overcoming of this dipole between relativism and positivism, thereby constituting a theoretical framework for critical discourse analysis in psychology.

Communicative Activity: Social Theoretical Foundations for Critical Materialist Media and Communication Sociology in the Digital Age

This paper contributes to the social theoretical foundations of a sociology of media and communication by making use of the cultural–historical school in psychology. Such perspective gains relevance in digital capitalism and the blurring of production and Internet usage. The paper first revisits Habermas’s influential notion of communicative action and agency. Second, it uses activity theory as an alternative, more promising way of theorising because it links communication closer to work. A model of communicative action is introduced and a conceptual link between media and human tool use is established. Third, the paper elaborates on the notion of activity in the digital world and posits that digitalisation can be understood as a ‘machinisation’ of mental and communicative-coordinative work. The developed perspective, the paper concludes, allows critical media and communication sociology to operate with meaningful concepts of communicative expropriation, exploitation and alienation.

Футуристична кухня як модель футуристичного світогляду

Aim. The article deals with the one of the models of the futuristic worldview, namely the futuristic cuisine. Methods. During our research were used the historical criticism and the principles of the cultural-historical school. Results. As the result of our research were translated the main postulates from the book by F. T. Marinetti’s «La cucina futurista» («The Futurist Cookbook», 1932) and were analyzed the main approaches to create futuristic cuisine as one of the models of the futuristic worldview. Scientific novelty. For the first time was made the Ukrainian translation of the text by F. T. Marinetti’s «La cucina futurista» («The Futurist Cookbook») (1932), as well as researched futuristic cuisine from the position of a formative model of the futuristic worldview. The practical significance. This article can be used for further research into the history and theory of futurism. Scientific research results can be used in various scientific projects.

The Contributions of Nina Fedorovna Talyzina to Research Developed in Brazilian Postgraduate Programs.

Nina Fedorovna Talyzina was a Russian psychologist, whose theories have been applied in educational research in many countries around the world, including Brazil. Her name is mainly connected to the Activity Theory of Learning (ATL), which has been dubbed the Galperin-Talyzina system of developmental didactics. Investigate how N.F. Talyzina's ideas are applied in dissertations and theses developed in postgraduate programs in Brazil. Our research was a bibliographic review which used the state of the question method to examine how Talyzina's ideas are applied in Brazilian academic publications. Data were gathered from three responsible databases - the Brazilian Digital Library, the CAPES Catalogue, and the Institutional Repositories (1987-2022). The method of content analysis was used for data analysis, according to pre-determined categories. We found a prevalence of research based on the methodology of formative experiments carried out at different educational levels. Skills, scientific concept- formation, and problem-solving were the objects of investigation in most of the studies. The ideas proposed by L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, P.Ya. Galperin, and V.V. Davidov were expressed through references to Talyzina's work as the theoretical basis of many studies, thus evidencing a crucial dialogue with the Cultural-Historical School (CHS). Our study points out the growing interest in Talyzina's ideas, specifically her Activity Theory of Learning, which can be attributed to comprehensive dialogues with the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky and A.N. Leontiev which predominate in Brazilian research.

МИХАЙЛО ГРУШЕВСЬКИЙ ЯК ІСТОРИК УКРАЇНСЬКОГО ФОЛЬКЛОРУ

The article highlights Mykhailo Hrushevskyi’s scientific views on the problem of historicism of the Ukrainian oral literature and periodization of folk songs. The scientific and critical reception of the historical literary strategies of the author, the essence of the main discussion questions addressed by the reviewers is clarified to the researcher. Based on the analysis of folkloristic volumes "History of Ukrainian Literature" and separate ethnological works of the scientist trace the formation of the methodological foundations of M. Hrushevskyi, a folklorist, established their conceptual affiliation to the positivist stage of Ukrainian cultural historical school, it was found that some of his research ideas corresponded to the provisions of the French school genetic sociology. The folkloristic development’s study of one of the most authoritative historians of the late 19th and early 20th centuries showed the scientific productivity of his conceptual considerations regarding the chronology of folklore phenomena and their application in further folklore studies. In the theoretical aspect, the problem of the relation between folklore and literature in the research from the point of M. Hrushevskyi is revealed, which is considered in two interwoven planes: 1) the origin of oral folk literature and its specifics; 2) the issue of common study of folklore and literature. It has been found that, using the inductive method in the interpretation of the folklore tradition, M. Hrushevskyi had critical attitude towards the extremes of comparativism and at the same time he deeply respected the research effectiveness of the historical-comparative method of studying and clarifying similarities and borrowings, as well as determining the national specificity of oral Ukrainian literature. As a scientist with a historical mindset, the researcher penetrates through the layers of centuries and millennia, presents a scientifically based chronology of the stages of the development of Ukrainian folklore, explains the theory of the origin of literature, tries to trace the oral literature before the Slavs’ settlement and after it, catches the echo of creativity of tribal times, researches and reconstructs army poetry.

Cultural and Historical Direction in Russian Medieval Studies of the Turn of the XIX‒XX Centuries

The article discusses the views of Russian scientists who studied medieval Western European culture, namely the cultural-historical school in medieval studies at the turn of the 19th‒20th centuries. The relationship between historical science and modernity is an important issue. Only through the disclosure of the diverse influences of modernity on historical science, a genuine understanding of its actual development can be possible. The goal is to create a holistic image of the cultural and historical direction of Russian medieval studies of the early XX century in the context of the era. Demonstration of interaction, interrelation of Russian historiography of the beginning of the XX century with the cultural environment of the Silver Age. The objectives of the study: firstly, to present the main manifestations of the Silver Age culture; secondly, to consider the problems of Western European culture in the works of Russian historians of the early XX century. We used the following methods to achieve the goal: first, a holistic method that allows you to know the phenomenon in the context of the era. In order to understand a certain part (the cultural-historical direction in Russian medieval studies of the beginning of the 20th century ‒ in this case), it is necessary to understand the era as a whole, the cultural environment (culture of the Silver Age), which affects its constituent parts. Further, a historical-comparative method that allows us to present Russian historiography in the beginning of the 20th century against the backdrop of a pan-European context. A genetic method that allows you to determine the relationship between Russian medieval studies of the beginning of the 20th century and the previous tradition, in this case, the development of medieval studies in the second half of the 19th century. Overall, domestic medieval studies of the beginning of the 20th century developed in the traditions of pan-European medieval studies of the same time. Many of the points that, one way or another, are discussed in the writings of historians of this time were found, with some exceptions, reflected in further developments already during the second half of the 20th century. Keywords: culture of the Silver age, Russian medieval studies, Russian philosophy of the XX century, the Renaissance, the situation in Russia

Введение в естественные науки: взгляд со стороны культурной истории человечества

We construct an introductory Natural Sciences curriculum that meets the demands of the «cultural-historical school». Our main task was to find the conditions that contribute to the formation of model mediation of text understanding within the Natural Sciences course, the content of which represents a purposeful transformation of natural materials in accordance with the cultural-historical specifics of human activity. To explore how schoolchildren acquire orienting functions of learning texts and models supporting the logical-genetic reconstruction of the natural scientific knowledge, we conducted an experimental teaching course in Natural Sciences for 2nd-graders (21 students, 102 academic hours). Our lessons proved a principal possibility of unfolding subject and model components of the course through the organization of joint actions consistent with the tasks of learning activity development in primary school children. Also, we assessed model-building skills in text understanding and task solving in children of two schools: the first group (103 students, 68 academic hours) studied the course we had developed, and the second group (80 students, 68 academic hours) received standard school courses. A significant improvement of model-building in the experimental group as compared to the control group suggests that cultural-activity-based introduction to Natural Sciences may have a certain potential in promoting the acquisition of orienting functions of learning models, which is vital for future advancement in middle and high school.

The theoretical innovation of V. N. Peretz in the field of methodology for studying the history of literature. To the 150th anniversary of the birth of the researcher

The article analyzes the methodological views of the academician V. N. Peretz, an outstanding Russian researcher and teacher. Refusing to follow the canons of the cultural-historical school of Russian literary criticism, in his works “From Lectures on the Methodology of the History of Russian Literature” (Kiev, 1914) and “A Brief Essay on the Methodology of the History of Russian Literature” (Petrograd, 1922) the researcher tried to find new approaches to the analysis of literary works. He believed that “the history of literature examines and studies the formal side of the works of verbal creativity, its evolution, leaving the cultural historian to study the content, the ideological side of the monuments of the past as such.” Peretz’s judgments were similar to those adopted by the followers of the OPOYAZ school (The Society for the Study of Poetic Language), and even had a certain influence on the development of formalism at the initial stage. This circumstance was noted by such researchers close to this research community as V. M. Zhirmunsky and its active members like Roman Jakobson. The relationship of Peretz’s theoretical positions with the methods of the Russian formalist school caused criticism from the followers of “Marxist” methodology in the 1920s. In the disputes between the formalists and the “Marxists”, Peretz clearly sympathized with the former believing that they were trying to “resurrect philology.” Peretz himself characterized his “Methodology” as “not Marxist” and had faint hopes for the possibility of its publication, although he continued to work on it. However, he never finished and published the extended version. His “Short Sketch” was reprinted twice abroad before being printed again in his homeland in 2010, 88 years after the first edition.

Історико-літературні синтези Пантелеймона Куліша

The article examines the theoretical and methodological foundations of historical and literary synthesis of Panteleimon Kulish in the context of European historiographical traditions, outlines the stages of development of literary history in Ukrainian literary criticism, and highlights the key features of European literary historiography of the 19-th century. The little-known studies of P. Kulish are analyzed and systematized, as well as their influence on the formation of Ukrainian literary historiography is generalized in the context of the evolution of European historiographic views. The narrative strategies of the literary critic are considered, which, based on the principles of positivism, determinism and culturological analysis of literary phenomena, mainly reflect the tendencies of the cultural-historical school. The evolution of the historiography of Ukrainian literature has been studied, as the concept "Note about Ukrainian Literature" (1848) by I. Vahylevych, "Three Introductory Lectures about Ukrainian Literature" (1849) by I. Holovatskyy and "Review of Works Written in Ukrainian " (1843) by M. Kostomarov had a decisive influence on the historiographical achievements of P. Kulish. The article also analyzes the key features of the historical and literary synthesis, selection of material, the main determinants of periodization and grouping of literary texts, levels of structural interpretation of writing in "History of Spanish Literature" (1849) by American historian J. Tiknor, which in 1851 was t ranslated by P. Kulish in " D omestic Notes". It is proved that the literary historiography of the Ukrainian literary critic in general is a synthesis of numerous historiographical modes, methodological historical and literary principles, the result of the consensus of different aesthetic and philosophical trends of the XIX century.

Z historii badań nad Słowiańszczyzną w archeologii polskiej do wczesnych lat 1940

The article presents the interest of Polish archaeology before 1945 in the prehistory and early history of the Slavs. The pioneers were Count Jan Potocki towards the end of the 18th century a representative of the Enlightenment period, and then Zorian Dołęga Chodakowski. Chodakowski’s work from 1818 about the Slavs before Christianity opened the Romantic period in Polish antiquarianism. At this time the greatest Polish poets were writing important works relating to the pre-Christian past of Poland, and a statue of the pagan god Światowid (Światowit) was found in the river Zbrucz. Studies of the earliest Slavs were continued by the positivists. At the beginning of the 20th century, one of them was E.Majewski from Warsaw, a promotor of the works of L. Niederle devoted to Slavic antiquities. In the period when the cultural-historical school dominated, prehistoric archaeology was becoming ever more closely associated with nationalism and politics (G. Kossinna). Majewski was one of the first critics of Kossinna’s method and works. In the years 1919–1944 Majewski’s pupil, L. Kozłowski, and J. Czekanowski studied the origin of the Slavs. Both were professors of the University in Lviv. Together with J. Kostrzewski, a prehistorian from Poznań, they regarded the Lusatian culture from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age as ancient Slavic. This view was important as propaganda in the political and scholarly dispute with prehistorians of the Third Reich. Its significance increased after the discovery and start of excavations of a fortified settlement of the Lusatian culture in Biskupin, in northwestern Poland. During the Second World War, Biskupin was excavated by H. Schleif from the SS-Ahnenerbe. The intention was to refute Kostrzewski’s views. At the same time, Kostrzewski and Kozłowski were writing works intended to confirm the ancient Slavic character of the Lusatian culture. Today their views constitute an interesting chapter in the history of science. Key words: early history of the Slavs, Światowid, Biskupin, Romantic period, Lusatian culture.

Evidence on Animals in the Middle Ages in the Framework of Culture-Historical Paradigm

The paper investigates the relationship between archaeological paradigm, fieldwork practice and archaeological records generated in Serbia after the World War II. The issue is the need to revalorize “old” archaeological records in the context of the current theoretical changes and of adaptation of the existing evidence to new research perspectives. These general issues are discussed on the example of culture-historical or traditional approach in Medieval archaeology in the Serbian context.
 From the point of view of postprocessual archaeology, the paradigmatic position entirely determines the evidence generated during excavations. Consequently, it may be expected that the excavations conducted under the culture-historical school of thought may only answer the questions posed from the culture-historical viewpoint. Therefore, the limitations are great of reinterpretation of the evidence generated in the culture-historical framework. Additionally, the problems of reinterpretation are raised by inaccessibility or non-existence of complete field documentation or unsatisfactory archiving. In other words, the data at our disposal are far removed from the complexity of archaeological record necessary for new insights and a better understanding of the past. The problem is further influenced by the specific character of archaeological knowledge and the issue of non-replicability that differs archaeology from other experimentally grounded research areas. Consequently, a string of problems raises in the process of reinterpretation of the “old” evidence, but it can still be treated as useful in interpretation, provided that it is adequately contextualized.
 The key points of the changed approach to archaeological research today may be defined as the overcoming of the notion of paradigm and the dualistic mode of thinking, with an emphasized importance of post-humanist philosophy and new materialism. One of the aspects of the post-humanist approach is the consideration of animals in archaeological record as companions to people of the past. This case-study considers specific issues of human-animal relations and “animal turn” on the grounds of the archaeological records interpreted as Mediaeval in the framework of the culture-historical paradigm. The new positioning of the “old” evidence stems from the theoretical tendencies linked to the “ontological turn” in social anthropology and archaeology, and the social epistemology of L. Fleck.

Emotions, social activity and neuroscience: The cultural-historical formation of emotion

This article challenges the use of cognitive-behavioural psychological models underpinning many of the dominant and popular accounts of emotion in the neurosciences. Acknowledging that neurobiology is important for any understanding of emotion, an alternative model of neuropsychology is sought in the work of theorists of the cultural-historical school, particularly A. N. Leontyev and A. R. Luria. The importance of their work in stressing the key role of intentional social activity, culture, and language in the formation of human neuropsychological functions is developed into a theory of emotions that can provide an alternative for emotion studies. In this theory, activity, culture, history, and individual ontogeny play the defining role in structuring the neurobiological systems that underlie emotions, as opposed to the evolution of behaviours that are hard-wired into the brain and function as automatic responses. Instead, it is understood that there is a continuum between evolution and human social and cultural development.

Dificuldades de aprendizagem em itens de uma prova de Didática Geral de futuros professores

No presente estudo, são apresentados os erros e as dificuldades de aprendizagem a eles associadas, detectados em respostas de futuros professores do ensino fundamental em itens de conhecimentos da Didática Geral numa prova de um concurso público. A metodologia utilizada foi a análise de desempenho e de erros (NÚÑEZ; RAMALHO, 2012), associando-se possíveis dificuldades de aprendizagem que podem explicar a ocorrência desses erros. Os dados empíricos foram fornecidos pela Comissão Permanente de Concursos da UFRN (Comperve/UFRN). Os resultados evidenciam um baixo desempenho nas questões da prova e revelam erros e dificuldades relacionados ao objeto da Didática Crítica, ao.s fundamentos do ensino com base nas ideias da escola Histórico Cultural de L. S. Vigotsky, à organização dos conteúdos e à formação de atitudes, entre outras. Esses resultados podem ser referência para se pensar a formação inicial dos professores em relação ao conhecimento profissional da Didática Geral como dimensão essencial da futura atividade de ensino nas escolas.

Концепция Л.И. Божович о строении и формировании личности (культурно-исторический подход)

The paper is devoted to analysis of the scientific work of Lydia Ilyinichna Bozhovich, a renowned Soviet academic psychologist who belonged to the cultural-historical school of thought and began a student of Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. Bozhovich’s research implemented cultural-historical methodology for study of the human mind and was focused on the problems of the structure and formation of child’s personality in ontogeny. The present paper links together theoretical statements that were proposed by Bozhovich in different periods of her work but nevertheless form an integral understanding of the personality formation in the childhood. The paper includes analyses of several Bozhovich’s concepts: the concept of personality; the hypothesis of the new personality formations in ontogenesis; her understanding of the affective (based on needs) sphere as the foundation of the personality development; the developmental phases of personality formation; and central newly formed personality structures at each developmental phase. The review outlines the large scale character of the research conducted in Bozovich’s laboratory

Contribution to the study of personality by ‘pioneers’ of the cultural historical school: Revisiting earlier research in search for learning

In times when vocational education and training (VET) faces challenges from a vari-ety of research problems, for example, dropouts and motivation for vocational oriented studies, it becomes important deepening into different theoretical and empiri-cal sources. The development of a comprehensive theory of personality in cultural historical school is the result of the works of what we could well consider as research ‘pioneers’ within this school. The presentation and analysis presented in this article tries to contribute to VET research through systematising and drawing attention to some of the most relevant contributions of these pioneers. Critical remarks are presented though a critical review is not within the scope of the article. The analysis presented here is made with awareness of the complexities and the risks involved in all attempts to summarise what was a remarkable creative production in research that extended for decades. The reader should also observe that the scope of the presentation and focus of attention here is limited to the specific contribution of these leading scholars to the development of a theory of personality. Been this limitation highlighted the article expects to contribute to better understanding studies of personality within the cultural historical school henceforth serving to the advance of research within VET.

Dewey and Lewin: A neglected relationship and its current relevance to psychology

In this paper, we explore the neglected relationship between Dewey and Lewin. Adopting a historical and theoretical perspective, we offer an interpretative framework for explaining why both scholars and their legacies may have been insufficiently recognized or misunderstood within psychology. Their relationship is discussed with particular reference to a common theoretical basis and conception of activity. The connections of their work with the Cultural Historical School and with Gramsci’s thinking are suggested. We hold that from this perspective, Dewey and Lewin can be seen to contribute to contemporary psychology—action research in particular—by furthering its “emancipatory social relevance.”

APROXIMACIONES CONCEPTUALES DESDE LA ESCUELA VIGOTSKIANA A LA TEORÍA DE LAS REPRESENTACIONES SOCIALES

O artigo pretende desenvolver uma releitura desde os núcleos teóricos e conceitos da escola histórico-cultural e da teoria das representações sociais. A escola histórico-cultural de influência marxista, longe de supor uma anulação do sujeito, mostra como se expressa o pisco-social desde a relação pensamento-linguagem até as categorias de experiência, zona de desenvolvimento próximo e situação social de desenvolvimento. Para os autores, o homem é um ser social e as singularidades da personalidade são expressão de várias gradações dos universais e contextuais. Igualmente, a teoria das representações sociais aborda o amplo impacto de um contexto social-relacional na conformação das noções da realidade e tem um alto impacto nas ciências sociais. Uma aproximação desde o enfoque histórico-cultural permitiria aprofundar e ampliar arestas da teoria das representações sociais que podem contribuir ao desenvolvimento da psicologia. A análise resulta proveitosa para áreas do campo geral e social da psicologia.

Опыт и перспективы исследования детской игры в рамках культурно-исторической психологии

The paper reconstructs the history of the problem of the development of mind on the example of child play. It reveals how researchers from the cultural-historical school of thought explored the developmental function of play, recorded quantitative leaps in its development and attempted to reconstruct it — from the works of L.S. Vygotsky and his followers (activity approach to role play: A.N. Leontiev, D.B. Elkonin, N.Ya. Mikhaylenko, N.A. Korotkova and others) to the works of researchers who studied the very act of development in play (L.I. Elkoninova, T.V. Bazhanova, K.O. Yuryeva). It is argued that the concept of the cultural form of play that contains the Challenge (limited by possibilities of action, by risk) and the Response to it serves as a foundation not only for role-playing games, but also for games with rules and computer games too. The Challenge is associated with action which transforms the situation of acting and is typical of all forms of play that are required to tie together everything that is separated in an everyday behavior of a child.

Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas’ Literary History: Narrative’s Methodological Singularities

The Lithuanian classic Vincas Mykolaitis-Putinas’ literary history, Naujoji lietuvių literatūra (The New Lithuanian Literature; Volume 1 published 1936; Volume 2, 2009) was the first conceptual, academic history of Lithuanian literature. In this metanarrative account, Mykolaitis-Putinas sought to methodologically describe different authors in terms of each one’s national and aesthetic consciousness. This national historiographic narrative was made possible by the grand national narrative that shaped the Lithuanian literary canon: the development of a national Lithuanian literature and the identification of its most important texts, genres, directions, and authors. Naturally, this grand narrative dictated Mykolaitis-Putinas’ writing methodology, as though the author were hostage to the cultural-historical school of positivism, forced to provide cultural contexts, present dry writers’ biographies, and look for causal connections. His categorization of literary historical content was determined by the quest for a national program characteristic of Romantic literary history – idealized subjects, rather than literary facts. On the other hand, anti-positivist aesthetics (drawn from Wilhelm Dilthey, Benedetto Croce, Maurice de Munnynck, Oscar Walzer, and others) also had considerable influence on his interpretation of the works. Although Mykolaitis-Putinas sought to assess the texts historically, from the perspective of the time he was examining, his own aesthetic views led him to have a critical relationship with literary history as a whole. Each author was critiqued – in terms of content, but even more so in terms of form.The literary history under discussion is a synthesis of two historiographic models: following Romanticism’s model of literary history, it tracesthe nation’s spiritual develoment; following historicist positivism, it seeks to understand different periods, the development of genres and directions, and explores causal connections and cultural contexts. This interpretive model presupposed an aesthetic understanding and the search for a “selfcontained literature”. Mykolaitis-Putinas’ history is a biographical-psychological, aesthetic, and – most importantly – a critical analysis of Lithuanian literature.

Lernfelder – die (ungenutzte) Wiederkehr des Exemplarischen

Today it is up to the teacher to concretize the general wording of Learning Fields in terms of Learning Situation. It is the aim, based on the primacy of Action Orientation, to convey an Occupational Action Competence, which is based on professional scientific fundamentals. From these scientific fundamentals contents must be selected that are exemplary for the fundamentals. But on what criteria the exemplary selection should be oriented? How can the required entanglement of action systematic and fold systematic teaching and learning be realized? The following article assumes that a glimpse into the past disputes about the exemplary teaching and learning provides suggestions for the current discussions on the implementation of the learningfield-based frame-curricula. In particular, in the combination of considerations of Wolfgang Klafki to the problem of the Elementary and those of the Cultural-historical School, from which the concept of ascension from the abstract to the concrete was developed, a potential is seen, how exemplary contents can be selected and how exemplary teaching and learning can also theoretically be promoted.