Vygotsky Circle
Encyclopedia
Vygotsky Circle - an informal personal network of scholars associated with Lev Vygotsky
(1896-1934) and Alexander Luria
(1902-1977) active in 1920-early 1940s in the Soviet Union (Moscow, Leningrad, and Kharkov). The group comprised mostly psychologists, educationalists, medical specialists, physiologists, and neuroscientists, and included such individuals as Leonid Sakharov, Boris Varshava, Nikolai Bernstein
, Solomon Gellerstein, Mark Lebedinsky, Leonid Zankov, Aleksei N. Leontiev, Alexander Zaporozhets
, Daniil Elkonin, Lydia Bozhovich, Bluma Zeigarnik
, Filipp Bassin, and many others (altogether around three dozen individuals at different periods). German-American psychologist Kurt Lewin
and Russian film director and art theorist Sergei Eisenstein
are also mentioned as the "peripheral members" of the Circle. The work of the Circle contributed to the foundation of the integrative science of mind, brain, and behavior in their cultural and bio-social development also known under somewhat vague and imprecise name of cultural-historical psychology
. The Vygotsky Circle incorporates the ideas of social and interpersonal relations, the practices of empirical scientific research, and "Stalinist Science" based on the discursive practices of the Soviet science in the 1930s. The group dispersed after the German invasion of the Soviet Union at the beginning of WWII, but the influence of its former members was quite notable in Soviet science of the postwar period, especially after Soviet psychology finally came to power in early 1960s.
a new center was formed around 1939 under the leadership of Luria and Leontiev. In the after-war period this developed into the so-called the "School of Vygotsky-Leontiev-Luria". Recent studies show that this "school" never existed as such.
there are two problems that are related to the Vygotsky circle. First was the historical recording of the soviet psychology with innumerable gaps in time and prejudice. Second was the whole focus on the the person, Lev Vygotsky, himself that other notable characters that contributed were forgotten.
Secondary
Lev Vygotsky
Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was a Soviet psychologist, the founder of cultural-historical psychology, and the leader of the Vygotsky Circle.-Biography:...
(1896-1934) and Alexander Luria
Alexander Luria
Alexander Romanovich Luria was a famous Soviet neuropsychologist and developmental psychologist. He was one of the founders of neuropsychology and the jointly led the Vygotsky Circle.- Biography :...
(1902-1977) active in 1920-early 1940s in the Soviet Union (Moscow, Leningrad, and Kharkov). The group comprised mostly psychologists, educationalists, medical specialists, physiologists, and neuroscientists, and included such individuals as Leonid Sakharov, Boris Varshava, Nikolai Bernstein
Nikolai Bernstein
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bernstein was a Soviet neurophysiologist.-Life:Bernstein was largely self-taught, yet his work was respected by his colleagues....
, Solomon Gellerstein, Mark Lebedinsky, Leonid Zankov, Aleksei N. Leontiev, Alexander Zaporozhets
Alexander Zaporozhets
Alexander Vladimirovich Zaporozhets was a Soviet developmental psychologist, a student of Lev Vygotsky and Alexei Leontiev.Zaporozhets studied psychological mechanisms of voluntary movements, perception and action, as well as the development of thought in children. One of the major representatives...
, Daniil Elkonin, Lydia Bozhovich, Bluma Zeigarnik
Bluma Zeigarnik
Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik was a Soviet psychologist and psychiatrist, a member of Berlin School of experimental psychology and Vygotsky Circle...
, Filipp Bassin, and many others (altogether around three dozen individuals at different periods). German-American psychologist Kurt Lewin
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Zadek Lewin was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology....
and Russian film director and art theorist Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
are also mentioned as the "peripheral members" of the Circle. The work of the Circle contributed to the foundation of the integrative science of mind, brain, and behavior in their cultural and bio-social development also known under somewhat vague and imprecise name of cultural-historical psychology
Cultural-historical psychology
Cultural-historical psychology is a theory of psychology founded by Lev Vygotsky at the end of the 1920s and developed by his students and followers in...
. The Vygotsky Circle incorporates the ideas of social and interpersonal relations, the practices of empirical scientific research, and "Stalinist Science" based on the discursive practices of the Soviet science in the 1930s. The group dispersed after the German invasion of the Soviet Union at the beginning of WWII, but the influence of its former members was quite notable in Soviet science of the postwar period, especially after Soviet psychology finally came to power in early 1960s.
History of the Circle
The Vygotsky Circle was formed around 1924 in Moscow after Vygotsky moved there from the provincial town of Gomel in Belarus. The group grew incrementally and operated in Moscow, Kharkov, and Leningrad (all in the Soviet Union). The circle ended, however, in the early 1940s when the Soviet Union was invaded by Germany during the Great Patriotic War in 1941. Since then and until the beginning of WWII several centers of post-Vygotskian research were formed by Luria, Leontiev, Zankov, and Elkonin. However, as a result of growing control over science and following a period of political persecutions of Stalin's Great TerrorGreat Terror
Great Terror may refer to:* Reign of Terror , a period of extreme violence during the French Revolution, last weeks of which are sometimes referred to as the Red Terror or Great Terror...
a new center was formed around 1939 under the leadership of Luria and Leontiev. In the after-war period this developed into the so-called the "School of Vygotsky-Leontiev-Luria". Recent studies show that this "school" never existed as such.
there are two problems that are related to the Vygotsky circle. First was the historical recording of the soviet psychology with innumerable gaps in time and prejudice. Second was the whole focus on the the person, Lev Vygotsky, himself that other notable characters that contributed were forgotten.
What is the Significance of the Vygotsky Circle?
If historians and clinical psychologists work together, we may be able to substantially change our understanding of the Vygotsky clinical method of rehabilitation. Over the years, the Vygotsky Circle acquired numerous individuals and grew as a result of interest, which lead to ongoing empirical research. The Vygotsky Circle is indicative of how a worldwide collaborative project, such as this, is reflective of the continuous quest for establishing integrative human, social, and behavioral science. This group of promising individuals shows us the strength that exists in numbers, and how research in any field is a worldwide collaboration. "Similar academic unions
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See also
- Kharkov School of PsychologyKharkov School of PsychologyKharkiv School of Psychology is a tradition of developmental psychological research conducted in the paradigm of Lev Vygotsky's "sociocultural theory of mind" and Leontiev's psychological activity theory....
- Group dynamicsGroup dynamicsGroup dynamics refers to a system of behaviors and psychological processes that occur within a social group , or between social groups...
- Berlin School of Gestalt PsychologyGestalt psychologyGestalt psychology or gestaltism is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies...
- Thesis circleThesis circleA thesis circle involves a number of students and at least one professor, lecturer or instructor who collaborate in supervising and coaching final projects...
Sources
Primary- Stetsenko, A.Anna StetsenkoAnna Stetsenko, born in the former Soviet Union, is a developmental psychologist at the City University of New York. She has developed theories about infants' concepts of thinking and speaking based on the research of Lev Semenovich Vygotsky and Jean Piaget...
& Arievitch, I. (2004). Vygotskian collaborative project of social transformation: History, politics, and practice in knowledge construction. International Journal of Critical Psychology, 12(4), 58–80 - Yasnitsky, A. (2009). Vygotsky Circle during the Decade of 1931-1941: Toward an Integrative Science of Mind, Brain, and Education pdf (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Toronto)
- Yasnitsky, A. (2011). Vygotsky Circle as a Personal Network of Scholars: Restoring Connections Between People and Ideas (idem). Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, DOI: 10.1007/s12124-011-9168-5 pdf
Secondary
- Valsiner, J. (1988). Developmental Psychology in the Soviet Union. Brighton: Harvester Press.
- Blanck, G. (1990). Vygotsky: The man and his cause. In Moll, L. (Ed.) Vygotsky and Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Van der Veer, R., & Valsiner, J. (1991). Understanding Vygotsky. A quest for synthesis. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Van der Veer, R., & Valsiner, J. (Eds.) (1994). The Vygotsky Reader. Oxford: Blackwell.
- van der Veer, R. & Yasnitsky, A. (2011). Vygotsky in English: What Still Needs to Be Done. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science html, pdf