Imagining the Past, Constructing the Future

This book takes a sociocultural, developmental and dialogical perspective to explore the constructive and interconnected nature of remembering and imagining. Conceived as cognitive-affective processes, both emerge at the border of the person and his or her socio-cultural world. Memory is approached as a functional adaption to the environment using the resources of the past in preparation for action in the present. Imagination is tightly related to memory in that both aim to escape the confines of the concrete here-and-now situation; however, while memory is primarily oriented to the past, imagination looks to the future. Both are embedded in the exchanges with the social and cultural milieu, and thus theorizing them has relied on key ideas from Lev Vygotsky, Frederic Bartlett and Mikhail Bakhtin. Thus, this book aims to integrate theories of remembering and imagining, through rich empirical studies in diverse cultural settings and concerning the development of self and identity. These two groups of studies compose the subparts that organize the book. -- Cover Preface Context from Which This Book Emerged References Contents Editor Biographies Author Biographies List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Memory and Imagination as Meaning-Making Processes: Developmental Trajectories of Culture in Mind 1.1 Outline of the Book References Part I: Imagining and Remembering in Cultural Settings Chapter 2: The Dynamics Between Remembering and Imagining in School Transitions: A Study on Fictional Narratives 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Adolescence: Developmental Process and the Transition to the 6th Grade 2.3 Imagination in Reconstructing Past Experiences to Create the Future 2.4 Memory and Imagination in the Life Course 2.5 Memory and Imagination as Mental Functions 2.6 Affective Dimensions of Psychological Phenomena 2.7 Methodology 2.8 Empirical Data and Analysis 2.8.1 Sara’s Story 2.8.2 Carol’s First Day at School 2.8.3 Synthesis of the Meaningful Aspects of the Narrative 2.8.4 The Centrality of the Feeling of Fear Along Sara’s Narrative 2.9 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Imagining and Remembering in an Educational Context: An Exploratory Study 3.1 Imagination: A Fundamental Higher Psychological Function 3.1.1 Imagination and the Dynamics of Directionality and Resistance 3.2 Memory and Remembering 3.3 An Analytical Road: Rosa’s Case 3.4 Final Comments References Chapter 4: The Microgenetic Analysis of Remembering and Imagining in the Process of Learning Scientific Concepts 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Learning as Meaning-Making 4.3 Memory and Remembering 4.4 Imagination and Its Relation to Memory and Learning 4.5 Method and Data Analysis 4.6 Data Analysis and Discussion 4.7 Conclusions References Chapter 5: Remembering and Forgetting: A Crossroad Between Personal and Collective Experience 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Social Representing and Symbolic Construction of the Environment 5.3 Environment, Personal Experience, and Remembering 5.4 Remembering Through the Environment: Some Empirical Examples 5.5 Conclusion References Chapter 6: The Aesthetic Experience as a Central Pathway in Understanding Memory and Imagination – The Case of Quilombo Barro Branco 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The Aesthetic Experience: Philosophical Considerations 6.3 Towards a Psychology Based on Aesthetic Experience 6.4 Memory and Imagination 6.5 From Vico to the Sociocultural Imagination 6.6 The Quilombo Culture 6.7 The Discourse on the Brazilian Negro 6.8 The Construction of a Tradition 6.9 The Quilombo Barro Branco 6.10 Discussion 6.11 (In)Conclusions or Final Considerations References Part II: Self-Development and Identity Construction Chapter 7: Constructing Continuity After Ruptures: The Role of “Anticipatory Recognition” in Children’s Self-Development 7.1 Self-development in Sociocultural Theories and Dialogical Self Theory 7.2 The Notion of “Anticipatory Recognition” 7.3 Co-construction of a Developmental Trajectory Through “Anticipatory Recognition”: Empirical Evidence 7.3.1 Method 7.3.2 Case Example: Giselle’s Case in Three Phases 7.3.3 Phase 1: Strong Tensions, Uncertain Future 7.3.4 Phase 2: The Emergence of New Meanings in the Self 7.3.5 Phase 3: Anticipatory Recognition Consolidate 7.4 Concluding Remarks References Chapter 8: Dynamics Between Past, Present, and Future: The Role of Constructive Imagination in a Musician-Teacher’s Life Trajectory 8.1 Memory and Life Trajectory Narratives 8.2 Imagination: Reconstructing the Past and Anticipating the Future 8.3 Ruptures and Transitions Along Life Trajectories 8.4 Felipe’s Cultural Context 8.5 Analysis of Felipe’ Life Trajectory 8.6 The Catalyst Role of Special Social Others 8.6.1 Alberto 8.6.2 Paulo 8.6.3 Others 8.7 The Military: Major Bifurcation Point Leading to a Rupture 8.8 The Interplay Between Rupture, Transitions and Shadow Trajectories 8.9 Self-Positionings: “I-Musician,” “I-Teacher,” “I as a Musician-Teacher” 8.9.1 I-Self Position as a Musician 8.9.2 I-Self Position as a Teacher 8.9.3 Merging of Positionings: The Self as a Musician-Teacher 8.10 The Imagined Future 8.11 Conclusion References Chapter 9: Being in the World: The ACT of Making and Striking Out Personal Self-Constructions 9.1 Introducing the Complexity of Constructions – An Example of Carnival Constructions 9.2 The Land of Musicians – Terra de Músicos 9.3 The Study of Being a Musician – The Flux Between Being and Not Being a Musician 9.4 From a Blank Sheet of Paper to an Emotional Musician 9.5 What If Self-Identity Is Threatened by Oneself? 9.6 The Moving Body 9.7 To Self-Construct or to Be Constructed by Others 9.8 Final Comments – The Dynamic Self-Construction References Chapter 10: Co-constructing Past and Future in Times of Uncertainty: Students’ Positions During the Brazilian Teachers’ Strike in 2012 10.1 Theoretical Framework: Positioning in Time or an Agentive Understanding of Temporal Experience 10.2 Empirical Study: Positioning on the University Teachers’ Strike of 2012 in Brazil 10.2.1 Participants 10.3 Analytical Proposal 10.4 Analysis and Discussion of Cases 10.4.1 Epistemic as Commitment/Duty: Fighting for What People Know Is Right 10.4.2 Power Relations: From Certainty to Uncertainty 10.5 Conclusions References Index