Vygotsky at Work and Play

by Lois Holzman

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.

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Lois Holzman is a developmental psychologist, director of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy, and author of numerous writings on play, learning and development, most recently, Vygotsky at Work and Play.

Reviews

[Zach]

Vygotsky at Work and Play is an interesting book in which Lois Holzman explores her efforts to use Vygotsky to transform herself and the world. I particularly enjoyed Holzman's (et al) use of the zone of proximal development with performance learning and improvisation. Holzman's zpd is decidedly and vitally a social zone, which Vygotsky makes pretty clear, but as Holzman points out, so many people fail to use with any useful leverage. Also, Holzman's theory of becoming is worth exploring for its own sake and for its connections (unmentioned) to growth mindset.


Here's a favorite quote:


The common expression, "Children are our future" bothers me. I recognize it is well intentioned, but I always hear it as separating "becoming" from "being" and relating to young people more as passive recipients of what adults create than as creators. Human history -- past, present, and future -- is not age-related. Adults and children create culture together. To the extent that adults forget this, children, may, unfortunately, turn out to be our future.