Activity Theory: An Introduction

This collection introduces Activity Theory to the current generation of theorists and researchers. Originating in early Soviet psychology, suppressed by Stalin, and later rediscovered, this rich theoretical tradition and intellectual movement proliferated globally and developed in different directions across a variety of disciplines. However, until recently it remained “the best-held secret of academia” (Engeström 2009).

Activity Theory presents a unique approach to studying the nature, origin, and development of human subjectivity. Its core proposition is that the mind cannot be reduced to individual brain or body functions, nor can be understood as a discursive or cultural phenomenon. Instead, Activity Theory posits that the mind emerges and develops inter-subjectively, and is internalized by individuals always embedded, along with their culture and language, in the context of object-oriented social practices. By refocusing the lens of inquiry from the individual onto the patterns of activity in which they move, this method illuminates a special reality―the materiality of human practice, which shapes the subject in ways that biological and cultural explanations cannot fully capture.

This volume assembles current scholarship from prominent figures across diverse fields who share the Activity Theory approach. It presents their findings and reflects on Activity Theory’s history, significance, and prospects.

With contributions by David Bakhurst, Andy Blunden, Mikael Brunila, Juliano Camillo, Seth Chaiklin, Michael Cole, Brecht De Smet, Yrjö Engeström, Cathrine Hasse, Alex Levant, Miriam McSweeney, Cristiano Mattos, Kyoko Murakami, Bonnie Nardi, Vesa Oittinen, Juhana Rantavuori, André Machado Rodriguez, Annalisa Sannino, Anna Stetsenko, Katsuhiro Yamazumi.

Dr. Alex Levant is a lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada. He specializes in critical media theory and emerging/future technologies. He is co-editor (with Vesa Oittinen) of Dialectics of the Ideal (Brill, 2014). His papers have been published by, among other outlets, Historical Materialism, Stasis, Critique, Educational Review, and Mind, Culture and Activity.

Dr. Kyoko Murakami studied psychology at Loughborough University in Loughborough, United Kingdom. Since 2019, she is TEACHING FELLOW and HONORARY RESEARCH FELLOW in the Department of Education at University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom. Previously, Murakami held associate professorship in psychology at University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. She is an executive committee member of International Society for Theoretical Psychology and a member of editorial board in Culture & Psychology. Her previous book include Discursive Psychology of Remembering and Reconciliation (Nova, 2012) and Dialogic Pedagogy (Multilingual Matters, 2016). Her papers have been published by Culture & Psychology, Ethos, Memory Studies and Learning, Culture and Social Interaction among other outlets.

Dr. Miriam McSweeney is a lecturer in the Business School at the Galway Campus of the Atlantic Technological University in Ireland. She has also worked as a software engineer in the Telecommunications Industry. Her research focuses on the social aspects of learning. She is particularly interested in the social and psychological impacts of learning environments in tertiary education. She has investigated how management might be supported to understand the use of learning technologies by academic staff.