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Lovers of Learning in Taiwan

 

Here’s some photos from my trip to Taiwan last month as a guest of Lin-Ching Hsia, professor of psychology at  Fu-Jen University in Taipei and a passionate and successful community organizer. (Lin was a Fulbright Scholar with the East Side Institute some years ago.) I visited and spoke with activists, scholars and community members from a workers’ university, immigrant women’s and sex worker centers, an after school program, aboriginal communities, and labor and political activists. It was an wonderfully educational and developmental journey!
A Mandarin class for immigrant women from Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines
A Mandarin class for immigrant women from Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines

 

 

A sign at the train station - what do you think it means?

A sign at the train station - what do you think it means?

 

 

Powpee Lee and staff of Ludi Community University

Powpee Lee and staff of Ludi Community University

 

 

Posted in Culture, Education, Politics. Tagged with , .

By loisholzman
June 10, 2009

2 comments

The International Class 2009-2010—A Global Learning Community

April 10, 2009

“It is not only a Vygotskian atmosphere where professionals share different backgrounds, but a zone where you may improve your human skills and to help others to perform a better world.” –Ignacio Dalton, educational researcher, Buenos Aires Argentina


“The class has been such a wonderful support system, helping me to deepen my consultancy with the youth and staff I work with in non-profit organizations.  The group has inspired me to be more creative in my work, to take more risks, and to build more.  It has been an honor to be part of such a group that is dedicated to human development, even when life, social, and political circumstances challenge us.”–Kim Sabo Flores, evaluation consultant, Brooklyn NY


“The International Class has made me learn to challenge some of my old beliefs and to peel off the rigid self image that we all try to portray in our life. The cultural and economic differences of all the countries of the student has made us get an even broader viewpoint on all the topics which were discussed.”–Ishita Sanyal, psychologist, Calcutta India

 

The International Class is a course of study in postmodern and activity-theoretic approaches to human development and learning. Emphasis is on social therapeutics, a methodology utilized in diverse mental health, educational, youth development and community organizing settings in the US and internationally.

I began this program in the fall of 2003 and I lead it with a great faculty. We provide a unique opportunity for practitioners and scholars from the US and countries around the world to study together, learn the Institute’s cutting edge developmental methodology, and build ties and support for themselves and their communities.

A creative playground and postmodern academy, participants create a dynamic zone of development in which they can engage the philosophical, political and psychological questions emerging from their practice.

The ten-month program combines residencies in New York City and seminars, supervision and project development sessions conducted online. Students come together to work with Institute faculty and others in the broader development community and advance their programs and research.

Residencies. The International Class meets at the Institute three times during the academic year (two six-day and one twelve-day residency period) to work together as a group with Institute faculty and associates. Site visits, observations, participant observations and experiential learning activities supplement daily seminar activity.

At Home. In between residencies, students study the social therapeutic method in relation to socio-cultural activity theory, theories of performance, postmodernism, group process and community development. Learning formats include on-line seminars, mentoring, dialogues with guest colleagues of the Institute, supervision and conference calls with faculty and mentors.

The International Class is cross-disciplinary and open to practitioners and scholars with a broad range of educational and life experiences—and a passion for innovation. Applications for the 2009-2010 program will be accepted through July 2009. Tuition is $3200. A limited number of full and partial scholarships are available.

For more information, including dates, applications and scholarship forms, contact me! To read more about the program, go to http://www.eastsideinstitute.org/internationalclass/index.html

 

Posted in Activity Theory, Culture, Education, Performance Movement, Postmodern Marxism, Psychology. Tagged with , , , , .

By loisholzman
April 12, 2009

1 comment

Thought is not expressed but completed in the word

April 7, 2009

I’ve been making a series of presentations in recent months around New York City and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed speaking with diverse audiences of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staffs at universities, conferences and human service organizations. The topics of my talks have varied—”Play is the Thing,” “Learning in Groups,” “Language Learning as Vygotskian Performance”—and the conversations have taken many different directions. But they are all relate to certain concepts of Vygotsky’s that have intrigued and inspired me for a long, long time.  I try to capture these concepts with quotes from Vygotsky’s writings. What do you think? Do they resonate with you? Intrigue? Inspire?

“The search for method becomes one of the most important problems of the entire enterprise of understanding the uniquely human forms of psychological activity. In this case, the method is simultaneously prerequisite and product, the tool and the result of the study.” (Mind in Society, 1978, p. 65)

“In play a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself.” (Mind in Society, 1978, p. 102). 

“The development of a corresponding concept is not completed but only beginning at the moment a new word is learned. The new word is not the culmination but the beginning of the development of a concept. Here, as everywhere, the development of the meaningful aspect of speech turns out to be the basic and decisive process in the development of the child’s thinking and speech.” (Thinking and Speech, 1987, p. 241)

“The relationship of thought to word is not a thing but a process, a movement from thought to word and from word to thought … Thought is not expressed but completed in the word. We can, therefore, speak of the establishment (i.e., the unity of being and nonbeing) of thought in the word … The structure of speech is not simply the mirror image of the structure of thought. It cannot, therefore, be placed on thought like clothes off a rack. Speech does not merely serve as the expression of developed thought. Thought is restructured as it is transformed into speech. It is not expressed but completed in the word.” (Thinking and Speech, 1987, p. 250-1)

I am compelled to comment on this last quote, because it is so provocative and evocative! Here’s what my colleague Fred Newman and I think about its implications: If speaking is the completing of thinking, if the process is continuously creative in socio-cultural space (that is, if mind is in society), then it follows that the “completer” does not have to be the one who is doing the thinking. Others can complete for us. In doing so, they are no more saying what we are thinking than we are saying what we are thinking when we complete ourselves. This implication is key to our understanding of emotional growth in social therapeutics.

Posted in Activity Theory, Language, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Social Therapeutics, Vygotsky. Tagged with , , .

By loisholzman
April 9, 2009

2 comments

Now There’s a Blog of Proximal Development

March 18, 2009

Is anyone else aware of Konrad Glogowski’s blog— which I found today as a news item in the daily ASCD SmartBrief that comes in my inbox everyday?  I’m glad I found it — it’s intelligent and conversational. There’s an extensive and thoughtful piece on Teachers Without Borders work in South Africa and Kenya (a first hand report).

Posted in Activity Theory, Culture, Education, Vygotsky. Tagged with , , .

By loisholzman
March 18, 2009

No comments

Vygotsky — The Biggest Loser?

February 15, 2009

This might be a first — invoking the Zone of Proximal Development to sell a health club! I was doing a “Vygotsky” search on UTube and the first one to come up was an ad for getting fit, not on your own but with others -  Shedfast on UTube.

What do you think?

Posted in Vygotsky. Tagged with , , .

By loisholzman
February 15, 2009

5 comments

New Vygotsky Documentary Features Cole, Kravtsova, Vygodskaya, Wertsch (and Holzman)

1vygotsky_dvdcvrFebruary 15, 2009

I am happy to report that a new documentary film, Lev Vygotsky: One Man’s Legacy through his Life and Theory, is being released this month. The filmmaker is Valerie Lowe who, in addition to making films, is an adult educator, corporate consultant and staff trainer in British Columbia — and a completely lovely person. I got to know Val when she was just beginning this project a few years ago and have been following its development. 

I also got  pre-release glimpses of the film this past fall when Val showed segments at the ISCAR (International Society for Cultural Activity Research) conference in San Diego and the Performing the World 2008 (PTW’08) conference in New York City. The film uniquely combines the political-cultural history of Vygotsky’s life with illustrations of contemporary Vygotskian practices in several countries, and is comprised of interviews with Vygotsky family members Gita L. Vygodskaya and Elena Kravtzova, photographs, archival footage, and commentaries by contemporary Vygotksian scholars, Michael Cole, Lois Holzman, Vera John-Steiner, Alex Kozulin, Tamara Lifanova, Luciano Mecacci, and James Wertsch. You can view sections of the film at the website media page. (You can see about 5 seconds of me in one of them.)

It was a  privilege to have been included in “Lev Vygotsky” and, even more, to have been able to introduce Val and viewers to the some extraordinary Vygotskian practitioners.

Some colleagues and I are now planning a New York premiere of the film to take place in March or April. Watch for the announcement!

Posted in Activity Theory, Culture, Politics, Psychology, Vygotsky. Tagged with , , , , , , , , , .

By loisholzman
February 15, 2009

5 comments

Conversations with a Black Minority: Fulani, Frazier, Lewis and Strickland

February 7, 2009

I’m excited about a new course offering of the East Side Institute, where I am privileged to be director. It’s entitled, “Conversations with a Black Minority: Postmodern Marxists in Dialogue about a New and Innovative Approach to “Black” Psychology,” and it will be led by four powerful African American women colleagues of mine from whom I have learned immeasurably: Lenora Fulani, Alvaader Frazier, Pam Lewis and Gloria Strickland (bios below).

During the five weekly sessions, they will “unpack” the title of their course—sharing how they understand themselves as a “Black Minority;” in what ways they are postmodern Marxists; what that looks like in their work as psychologists, educators and community activists; why they think such an approach is good for the development of black communities and of all people; and what the challenges are in light of “black psychology” — both the psychology of the black community and that of academics who identify and work with a black psychology. 

“Conversations …” meets Wednesday evenings, 6:30-8:00 PM February 25-March 25 at the East Side Institute. For more information or to register http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=175846

I plan to write about the course here each week. 

Lenora Fulani is a leading youth development specialist who co-founded the All Stars Project in 1981. One of her current projects is Operation Conversation: Cops and Kids, a series of workshops that uses performance to facilitate dialogues between New York City police and Black youth. Dr. Fulani earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the City University of New York. As America’s leading Black independent, she has twice run for President of the United States.

Alvaader Frazier, Esq. is a long time community organizer. She received her law degree from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton, California and has worked as a human rights attorney. Ms. Frazier is also a prolific poet, writer and patron of the arts.

Pamela Lewis is the Director of Youth Programs for the All Stars Project. At the All Stars she also serves as national producer of the All Stars Talent Show Network and co- director of the Joseph A. Forgione Development School for Youth.

Gloria Strickland is the Director of the All Stars Project of New Jersey. Prior to heading up the All Stars, Ms. Strickland was the executive director of the Somerset Community Action (SCAP) and the Somerset County Head Start programs. She has a Masters degree in education from New York University.

Posted in Culture, Performance Movement, Politics, Postmodern Marxism, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Social Therapeutics, Youth Development. Tagged with , , , .

By loisholzman
February 7, 2009

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Vygotsky at Work and Play is Launched***Watch Video Clip

Some Words from Ana Marjanovic-Shane
Book Launchers

The headquarters of the East Side Institute was crowded with friends and colleagues and their friends and colleagues as we launched my new book, Vygotsky at Work and Play on January 23. We interrupted the chatter of conversation and book signing with a short program. Rafael Mendez, my friend and co-editor (of Psychological Investigations) hosted and shared  the importance of the ideas presented in the book to his work as a psychology professor and social therapist. Then Ana Marjanovic-Shane, a noted Vygotskian/cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) theorist and practitioner, spoke—giving what more than one guest said was a fabulous and fascinating lesson on Vygotsky. Here are some photos from the festivities.

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Ana and Lois

Ana and Lois

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Posted in Culture, Performance Movement, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Social Therapeutics, Uncategorized, Youth Development. Tagged with , .

By loisholzman
February 5, 2009

No comments

Praise for Making Words and Making Things

This beautiful poem was written and performed by Elizabeth Alexander at Barack Obama’s inauguration today. I was hoping it would appear on the Web and, after a few hours, it did. It is a gift.

 ”Praise Song for the Day” 

Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”

We encounter each other in words, Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; Words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.”

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”

Others by “first do no harm,” or “take no more than you need.”

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp — praise song for walking forward in that light.

Posted in Culture, Language, Politics. Tagged with , , , , .

By loisholzman
January 20, 2009

2 comments

Against and For CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy)

 

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Richard House and Del Loewenthal have done a great service to mental health professionals and consumers in putting together an intelligent and cogent collection of essays that lay bare the epistemological and ideological underpinnings of CBT and the methodological validity accorded to it. The two British psychologists are  editors of the new book, Against and For CBT: Towards a Constructive Dialogue?  One of the many critical questions the 24 essays in the book raise is: “What is the balance of responsibility between policy-makers, the CBT field itself, and the “modernist” Zeitgeist for the way in which CBT has increasingly been made into the prevailing therapy of “choice” within modern Western societies?

I am very pleased that one of the book’s essays was authored by my dear friend, mentor and collaborator Fred Newman. In their overview of the book’s contents, House and Loewenthal had this to say about Newman’s contribution: “In the final chapter on epistemological and research perspectives, ‘Where is the magic in cognitive therapy? – a philo/psychological investigation’ , Fred Newman explores the connection between cognitive therapy and common sense, the relationship between common sense and science, and the interrelationships between the cognitive, the linguistic, and the post-modern turn. We are treated to an engagingly discursive philosophical tour de force that incorporates such philosophical giants as Quine, Davidson, Wittgenstein, Vygotsky and Searle – and of course, Fred Newman and Lois Holzman’s own distinctive brand of ‘social therapy’. As always with Newman’s writings, the reader is in for a journey of many fascinating philosophical twists and turn – and not least, the post-modern one.” (p. 16)

Newman’s essay — and the entire book — is a must read.


Posted in Psychotherapy. Tagged with .

By loisholzman
January 16, 2009

1 comment