September 16, 2009 In a few weeks, I’ll begin working (and playing) with a new International Class—grass roots community activists and scholars who will gather at the East Side Institute for their first residency. Coming from different places and professions, they share a desire to change the world—and an eagerness to...
August 19, 2009 Popular books, especially if they relate to current events, get reviewed as soon as they are published—and sometimes before. Not so academic books. Alas, it's typically a year before a review appears in print. So I was pleasantly surprised today to find an email in my inbox from...
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...
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...
Some Words from Ana Marjanovic-Shane 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...
Ishita Sanyel, founder of one of the first and most innovative centers in India for people with mental illness, has begun training colleague in social therapy. Her organization, an NGO in Calcutta, is called Turning Point. Ishital is a clinical psychologist and graduate of the East Side Institute’s 2007-2008 International...
