Vygotsky at Work and Play

Vygotsky at Work and Play is an intimate portrayal of the Vygotskian-inspired approach to human development known as ‘social therapeutics’ and ‘the psychology of becoming’. Holzman provides an accessible, practical-philosophical portrayal of a unique performance-based methodology of development and learning that draws upon a fresh reading of Vygotsky. This expanded edition includes new content dealing with how Lev Vygotsky’s work can be applied to profound social issues of our times, including worsening police/community relations, authoritarianism in schools, the medical-model approach to social/emotional life, and the erosion of play in Western cultures. Holzman also weaves together Vygotsky’s discoveries with qualitative case studies from organizations that practice the approach in psychotherapy offices, classrooms, outside-of-school programs, corporate workplaces and virtual learning environments. The new edition of Vygotsky at Work and Play poses a practical-critical challenge to more traditional conceptions and methods of psychology and education, introducing performance as a new ontology and the author’s own activist research performance as a new way to do psychology. It is an essential read for researchers and professionals in educational and developmental psychology, psychotherapy, cultural historical activity, social science, performance studies and education.

Acknowledgements; Foreword to the First Edition; Preface to the First Edition; Introduction to the Second Edition; 1. Method(s) and Marx(s) 2. Vygotsky in Therapy: Creating Zones of Emotional Development 3. In the Classroom: Learning to perform and performing to Learn 4. Outside of School: Creatively Imitating and Incorporating the Other 5. In scenes: A Response to Police-Community Antagonism 6. At the Workplace: Looking at Ourselves 7. Changing Relationships 8. Creating Stages Everywhere; Appendix; Notes; References; Index

Lois Holzman has helped establish Vygotskian-influenced practices that touch the lives of communities worldwide. She is director of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy, USA.