Vygotsky at Work and Play

The new edition of this modern classic examines the influence of Lev Vygotsky on contemporary psychology. The author has developed a unique performance-based methodology of development and learning that draws upon a fresh, often unconventional reading of Vygotsky. This book shows this methodology at work in psychotherapy, classrooms and the workplace, highlighting the many ways Vygotsky’s cultural theory of human development has led to a rethinking of psychology’s fundamental conceptions. It will provide essential reading for a wide audience of students and practitioners in psychology, psychotherapy, social sciences and education.

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.