Editors' Foreword
Dear Reader! You are holding the second volume of the special issue of the Journal “Cultural-Historical Theory and Activity Approach: Social and Educational Practices”. The special issue was prepared jointly by Moscow State University of Psychology and Education and the International Society for Cultural-Historical Activity Research for the 6th ISCAR Congress, held in August 2021 in Brazil (on-line). The first volume was released in the lead up to the Congress, and the second — in the aftermath to it, encouraging an international, cross-disciplinary dialogue under the pandemic, when the lack of lively interactions and face-to-face communication is particularly acute.
The second volume of the special issue includes four sections. Section “Discovering Vygotsky: New Pages in CHT” continues to acquaint the readers with unpublished works of the founder of the Cultural-Historical Scientific School. Two lectures by L.S. Vygotsky are published on the pages of the issue for the first time. As in the first volume, the lectures are published in Russian with the hope of completing the challenging task of their accurate translation into English in the near future.
Section “Language and Communication Through the Prism of CHT” invites the readers to reflect upon the ways, how L.S. Vygotsky’s ideas are applied in the process of teaching and learning foreign languages, as well as in creating spaces for efficient communication and social interactions.
Section “Applying CHT and Activity Approach for Facing Contemporary Challenges” provides papers on a wide range of relevant issues, emerging in the social and educational sphere of contemporary society. The articles of the section touch upon such challenges as development of intellectual abilities in learning, developing students’ agency, conducting empirical research in the framework of CHT, development in the situation of collective imagining as well as collective “pereghivanije” in playworlds, the issue of cultural identities and constructing digital environments.
Section “Vygotsky’s Ideas in Practices of Inclusion” focuses on the possibilities of applying Cultural-Historical Theory for constructing inclusive environments, designed for overcoming challenges and difficulties that children with special educational needs face in various social situations.
Section “Discussions and Discourses” continues the dialogue on the possible readings and interpretations of L.S. Vygotsky’s works in the light of the recent archival findings.
This volume is dedicated to the memory of B.G. Meshcheryakov, who stood at the origins of the journal and for many years was its Deputy Chief Editor. Boris Gurievitch was a great connoisseur of contemporary research, conducted in the framework of the Cultural-Historical Scientific School, and contributed a lot to the preservation of Vygotsky’s legacy. The volume includes an article by B.G. Meshcheryakov, which provides a panoramic view on the international dialogue on the fundamentals of this tradition.
Prof. Vitaly Rubtsov, President of MSUPE Prof. Katerina Plakitsi, ISCAR President