Contents:
Forward Kenneth Gergen Introduction Lois Holzman Life Upon the Wicked Stage Fred Newman Life as Performance (Can you Practice Psychology If There's Nothing That's "Really" Going On?) Lois Holzman Diagnosis: The Human Cost of the Rage to Order Fred Newman and Kenneth Gergen Beyond Narrative to Performed Conversation ('In The Beginning' Comes Much Later) Fred Newman and Lois Holzman A Therapeutic Deconstruction of the Illusion of Self Fred Newman Science Can Do Better Than Sokal: A Commentary on the So-called Science Wars Fred Newman The Story of Truth (A Whodunnit) or Philosophie Dan La Teatre Fred Newman Twenty-Two Weeks of Pointless Conversation Dan Friedman What Is To Be Dead? (Philosophical Scenes) Fred Newman

A passionate deconstruction and reconstruction of learning, development, and schooling that urges teachers to explore and create new educational opportunities for themselves and their students, Schools for Growth: Radical Alternatives to Current Educational Models asks the following questions: Can we create ways for people to learn the kinds of things that are necessary for functional adaptation without stifling their capacity to continuously create their growth? Can schools become environments that support children to perform not only as learners but as developers of their lives? This book challenges educators to look at the deeply-rooted assumptions about schooling, learning, and development and urges that the way psychology and education have constructed our conceptions of what it means to teach, to learn, and to grow may be the most serious impediment to the learning and developing of children. Beyond the criticism, the author presents an original methodological reformation of what learning and development are as relational activities and then takes readers on a visit to three radical independent school settings. Arguing that current educational models have been misguided by scientific psychology, the author states that the dominant model of human development actually hinders development. Moreover, as learning theory has become infused with developmental theory over the past 30 years, the overly cognitive manner in which psychologists have come to think about thinking, learning, and development has become further insinuated into education. Both theories--learning and developmental--fail o recognize the human capacity for relational-revolutionary activity and for performance. The prevalent mode of education--acquisitional learning--is grounded in a world view that gives primacy to knowledge and knowing which Holzman believes is inconsistent with ongoing developmental activity. The author focuses on "developmental learning"--a social constructionist, activity-theoretic conception of development which includes a transformation and synthesis of Vygotsky and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. She also discusses educational projects that are self-conscious attempts to break with key elements of modern epistemology and the dominant psychological paradigm as they are perpetrated in contemporary educational theory and practice. Their specific philosophies and practices highlight important methodological issues raised in the attempt to create "postmodern schools"--schools more concerned with growing than knowing.

When Lev Vygotsky: Revolutionary Scientist published, it was unique in several ways. It presented Vygotsky as a Marxist methodologist, both locating him in his historical period and delineating how his life and writings have been a catalyst for a contemporary revolutionary, practical-critical, psychology. It highlighted Vygotsky's unconventional view of how development and learning are related and, in doing so, brought human development into prominence. It introduced important linkages between Vygotsky's views on thinking and speaking and those of Wittgenstein, drawing implications for language acquisition and language learning. And it drew attention to Vygotsky's understanding of the role of play in child development, and expanded on the significance of play throughout the lifespan. In these ways, this classic text presented a more expansive Vygotsky than previously understood. The Introduction to this Classic Edition will summarize what has transpired in the years since Lev Vygotsky first published. It will answer who and where is Vygotsky now? What place does he have in scholarship in psychology, education, and other fields? How are practitioners making use of him-to address the challenges of our times, solve seemingly intractable social problems, revolutionize psychology, and develop skilled and worldly citizens? What have the authors accomplished since they first articulated their view of Vygotsky as a revolutionary scientist?

When Lev Vygotsky: Revolutionary Scientist published, it was unique in several ways. It presented Vygotsky as a Marxist methodologist, both locating him in his historical period and delineating how his life and writings have been a catalyst for a contemporary revolutionary, practical-critical, psychology. It highlighted Vygotsky's unconventional view of how development and learning are related and, in doing so, brought human development into prominence. It introduced important linkages between Vygotsky's views on thinking and speaking and those of Wittgenstein, drawing implications for language acquisition and language learning. And it drew attention to Vygotsky's understanding of the role of play in child development, and expanded on the significance of play throughout the lifespan. In these ways, this classic text presented a more expansive Vygotsky than previously understood. The Introduction to this Classic Edition will summarize what has transpired in the years since Lev Vygotsky first published. It will answer who and where is Vygotsky now? What place does he have in scholarship in psychology, education, and other fields? How are practitioners making use of him-to address the challenges of our times, solve seemingly intractable social problems, revolutionize psychology, and develop skilled and worldly citizens? What have the authors accomplished since they first articulated their view of Vygotsky as a revolutionary scientist?

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.

"Performing Psychology" consists of essays and stage plays by and about Fred Newman, the controversial American philosopher, psychotherapist, playwright and political activist for whom psychology, social action, human development and performance are one. The reader is invited into dialogues currently taking place among psychologists, philosophers, artists, and community activists on such topics as: the nature of human subjectivity; the relationship of theater to human development; the status of traditional science in a postmodern world; the process of therapy and diagnosis; and the re-initiation of creativity and growth.
Arguing that both psychological activity and its study are essentially performance, Newman and his colleagues expose the myths of mainstream psychology and the limitations of its postmodern challengers. More than an academic critique, "Performing Psychology" offers a new methodology for understanding human life.

A passionate deconstruction and reconstruction of learning, development, and schooling that urges teachers to explore and create new educational opportunities for themselves and their students, Schools for Growth: Radical Alternatives to Current Educational Models asks the following questions:
Can we create ways for people to learn the kinds of things that are necessary for functional adaptation without stifling their capacity to continuously create their growth?
Can schools become environments that support children to perform not only as learners but as developers of their lives?
This book challenges educators to look at the deeply-rooted assumptions about schooling, learning, and development and urges that the way psychology and education have constructed our conceptions of what it means to teach, to learn, and to grow may be the most serious impediment to the learning and developing of children. Beyond the criticism, the author presents an original methodological reformation of what learning and development are as relational activities and then takes readers on a visit to three radical independent school settings.
Arguing that current educational models have been misguided by scientific psychology, the author states that the dominant model of human development actually hinders development. Moreover, as learning theory has become infused with developmental theory over the past 30 years, the overly cognitive manner in which psychologists have come to think about thinking, learning, and development has become further insinuated into education. Both theories--learning and developmental--fail o recognize the human capacity for relational-revolutionary activity and for performance. The prevalent mode of education--acquisitional learning--is grounded in a world view that gives primacy to knowledge and knowing which Holzman believes is inconsistent with ongoing developmental activity.
The author focuses on "developmental learning"--a social constructionist, activity-theoretic conception of development which includes a transformation and synthesis of Vygotsky and philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. She also discusses educational projects that are self-conscious attempts to break with key elements of modern epistemology and the dominant psychological paradigm as they are perpetrated in contemporary educational theory and practice. Their specific philosophies and practices highlight important methodological issues raised in the attempt to create "postmodern schools"--schools more concerned with growing than knowing.

For centuries, knowledge has been thought to be the key to human progress of all kinds and has dominated Western culture. But what if knowing has now become an impediment to further human development? This text is concerned with the practical consideration of how to reconstruct our world when modernist ideas have been refuted and many social problems appear insoluble. The authors suggest that we should give up knowing in favour of performed activity. They show how to reject the knowing paradigm in practice and present the many positive implications this has for social and educational policy. Over the past two decades, a postmodern critique of the modern conception of knowing and its institutionalized practice has emerged. To many, this is a dangerous threat to the tradition of liberal education, strengthened by recent prestigious voices from the physical and natural sciences. The book challenges even the postmodernists themselves, rejecting the reform of knowing for a totally new performatory form of life. They support their argument with a new reading of Lev Vygotsky and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Lev Vygotsky was one of the most talented and brilliant of Soviet psychologists. Despite his tragically early death at the age of 38 his accomplishments are enormously impressive: he played a key role in restructuring the Psychological Institute of Moscow; set up two research laboratories in the major cities of the USSR; founded what we call special education; and authored some 180 works. His innovative theories of thought and speech are important not just for psychology but for other disciplines also. Yet even though his ideas have increasingly won popularity there remains a strong need for an accessible introduction to the man and his work. In Lev Vygotsky: Revolutionary Scientist Lois Holzman and Fred Newman have written a clear introductory text suitable for undergraduate students. In so doing they have taken the opportunity to set straight the misunderstandings and misuses of Vygotsky's ideas. and his work

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Lev Vygotsky was one of the most talented and brilliant of Soviet psychologists. Despite his tragically early death at the age of 38 his accomplishments are enormously impressive: he played a key role in restructuring the Psychological Institute of Moscow; set up two research laboratories in the major cities of the USSR; founded what we call special education; and authored some 180 works. His innovative theories of thought and speech are important not just for psychology but for other disciplines also. Yet even though his ideas have increasingly won popularity there remains a strong need for an accessible introduction to the man and his work. In Lev Vygotsky: Revolutionary Scientist Lois Holzman and Fred Newman have written a clear introductory text suitable for undergraduate students. In so doing they have taken the opportunity to set straight the misunderstandings and misuses of Vygotsky's ideas. and his work

After over a decade of theoretical writing, it is now possible and timely to evaluate the impact of postmodernism on psychology. This book brings together a group of highly respected contributors to the postmodern debate in psychology. Their chapters reflect on achievements and limitations of attempts to develop postmodern approaches to psychology. The essays are interactive, reflective and the authors are often in active debate. This volume introduces the general reader to such topics as Marxist and feminist psychology, social constructionism and deconstructionism. "Postmodern Psychologies" is the first book to assess postmodernism's impact on psychology, both within the discipline of psychology and the broader culture.

This is the first book to assess postmodernism's impact on psychology, both within the discipline of psychology and in the broader culture. It brings together a group of highly respected scholars whose chapters reflect on the achievements and the limitations of attempts to develop postmodern approaches to psychology. They provide an up-to-date, rigorous assessment of postmodernism in psychology and, at the same time, offer provocative new possibilities for social-psychological practice. Postmodern Psychologies introduces the general reader to the flavor as well as to the substance of psychology's key debates in the first postmodern century.

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Psychological Investigations lets readers listen in on one of the most exciting developments in psychology today as it is unfolding. With the current trend in therapy reflecting a movement away from scientific psychology, towards more postmodern psychologies, Social Therapy, a psychotherapeutic approach developed by Fred Newman, emerges as a qualitatively new way of doing therapy. Social Therapy blends philosophy, the arts and political concerns into a group approach that focuses on improved social functioning.

Psychological Investigations provides insight into the revolutionary development of social therapy - an improvisational, investigatory, development-focused method of treatment. Featuring dialogues drawn from transcripts of teaching and supervisory sessions between Newman and therapists, the book presents a comprehensive guide to the core philosophical and political issues of Social Therapy and the social therapeutic group process. Instead of introspection and insight - traditional means to self-realization - social therapy encourages activity, involvement and commitment to causes larger than the individual ego.

With more and more training institutes, professional programmes and graduate programmes are turning out practitioners who recognize a need for relational sensitivity in their work; a sensitivity which is inherent to Social Therapy. This book will serve as a provocative invitation to both new and seasoned professionals who are seeking alternative modes of practice and understanding.

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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.

Philosopher and psychotherapist Fred Newman and developmental psychologist Lois Holzman challenge psychology's understandings of what a human being is, what mental illness is, and how people develop and learn. They show how these understandings were created, marketed and sold to the American public. Going beyond critique, the authors argue that instead of psychology, what people the world over need is a cultural, performatory approach to human life. "Unscientific Psychology" is based on the authors' twenty-five year practice of creating such an approach and the network of therapeutic and educational projects that have been built with it.

"Unscientific Psychology" is at once a narrative of the history of philosophy, modern science and psychology, and a critique of psychology's methodology. Arguing that psychology is a pseudoscientific hoax, the authors deconstruct three of its most powerful myths: the myth of the individual; the myth of mental illness; and the myth of development. They tell the story of how these myths were constructed out of age-old philosophical abstractions to create a world and a discourse of psychological objects.

Newman and Holzman invite readers to think in new ways about our lives and the world around us. Like similar books that make discoveries in the social sciences accessible and exciting to an educated audience, "Unscientific Psychology" taps into the desire of readers who are eager to learn what's on the cutting edge of scientific and cultural change.