Writing Selves, Writing Societies: Research from Activity Perspectives (Perspectives on Writing, an Electronic Books Series)

Introduction......Page 9
References......Page 12
Acknowledgements......Page 15
A Central Bank’s “Communications Strategy”: The I......Page 17
Introduction......Page 18
Research Site......Page 20
Methodology and Theoretical Orientation......Page 22
The Communications Strategy and Its Genre Set......Page 26
Practitioners’ Genre Knowledge......Page 33
The Genre Set and Processes of Organizational Change......Page 42
The Role of the Genre Set in the Activity of the Communications Strategy......Page 45
Coordinating intellectual and discursive work within a community-of-practice......Page 46
Producing Public Information and Establishing a Unified Rhetorical Position......Page 53
Acting as a site for organizational learning......Page 55
Conclusion......Page 61
References......Page 63
Notes......Page 67
Structure and Agency in Medical Case Presentations......Page 70
Case Presentations......Page 71
Agency and Structure......Page 72
Genre Research......Page 77
The Study......Page 79
Data Analysis......Page 80
I.  The Case for Regularized Interaction......Page 81
II. The Case for Strategic Action......Page 84
III. The Case for Improvisation......Page 94
IV. What Are They Learning?......Page 96
Conclusions......Page 98
References......Page 100
Notes......Page 103
Compound Mediation in Software Development: Using Genre Ecologies to Study Textual Artifacts......Page 105
Activity Theory and Compound Mediation......Page 107
Genre Ecologies......Page 108
Background: Questioning the Usability of Code Libraries......Page 109
Research Sites......Page 110
Methods......Page 111
Results and Analysis: Mediation Within and Across Genre Ecologies......Page 112
Genre Ecologies at the Three Sites......Page 114
The Generic Nature of Artifacts: Inter-Ecology Comparisons......Page 115
Ecological Relations Among Genres: Intra-Ecology Comparisons......Page 120
Implications for Supporting Schlumberger's Software Developers......Page 123
Future Directions......Page 124
References......Page 125
Background......Page 129
Appendix A......Page 130
Notes......Page 131
When Management Becomes Personal: An Activity-T......Page 133
Analysis of Cultural History......Page 138
Analysis of Individual Development......Page 140
Analysis of Patterns of Activity......Page 147
Palm in “Doing E-mail”......Page 149
Palm in “Planning Work”......Page 154
Palm in “Taking a Break”......Page 157
Palm-Embedded Activity......Page 158
Discussion and Conclusion......Page 159
References......Page 162
Notes......Page 166
Writing and the Management of Power: Producing Public Policy in New Zealand......Page 167
The Political Background......Page 168
A Brief History of the Electricity Reforms......Page 169
The Genre System......Page 171
The Terms of Reference......Page 172
The Discussion Paper......Page 173
Submissions......Page 176
The Report......Page 177
The Media Announcement......Page 182
Conclusion......Page 183
Note......Page 184
References......Page 185
Chronotopic Lamination: Tracing the Contours of Literate Activity......Page 188
A Methodology for Tracing the Contours of Literate Activity......Page 190
Of Chronotopic Chains: Laminating Literate Activity......Page 194
Writers’ Accounts of Chronotopic Laminations......Page 195
Reflections on Chronotopic Lamination......Page 214
Sense, Affect, Consciousness......Page 216
Writers’ Accounts of Sense, Affect, and Conscious......Page 217
Reflections on Sense, Affect and Consciousness......Page 223
Writers’ Accounts of Tuning Consciousness through......Page 227
Reflections on Tuning Consciousness......Page 236
Conclusion......Page 239
References......Page 240
Notes......Page 245
Embracing Representational Conflict: A Problem for Knowledge Builders......Page 247
A Word about Method: Why Analyze Intercultural Knowledge Building as a Social/Cognitive Activity?......Page 249
The Community Think Tank: A Case Study of Knowledge Building:......Page 252
I. Designing An Intercultural Forum......Page 255
Posing the Problem......Page 256
Competing Discourses......Page 258
Competing Models of Deliberation......Page 259
Dialogue As A Socially Organized Activity......Page 262
Dialogue as an Intellectual Stance......Page 265
Dialogue as a Process of Rewriting Representations......Page 267
Whose Knowledge Is Changing?......Page 273
Using Documentation to Mediate Inquiry and Represent Knowledge......Page 274
What Sort of Knowledge Does Intercultural Knowledge Building Build?......Page 276
Evaluating Knowledge Building......Page 278
Building Working Theories......Page 279
Conclusion......Page 280
References......Page 281
Notes......Page 286
Participant and Institutional Identity: Self-representation Across Multiple Genres at a Catholic College......Page 288
Self-Representation As a Method of Analysis in Activity Theory......Page 291
Strategies of Self-Representation......Page 292
St. Augustine College As an Activity System......Page 294
Reproduction, Resistance, and Knowledgeable Resistance: Three Case Studies......Page 295
Reproduction: Matching the Teacher’s Expectations......Page 296
Resistance: Participating without results......Page 299
Knowledgeable resistance: Negotiating for change......Page 303
Constituting Selves: Conceiving of and Teaching Self-Representation......Page 306
Historical Selves/Cultural Identities/Academic Identities: Ethical Self-Representation......Page 308
Pedagogical Implications: Teaching Genre and Self-Representation......Page 310
Coda......Page 311
References......Page 312
Notes......Page 314
Introduction......Page 315
Methodology and Data Gathering......Page 316
Two Communities of Practice......Page 317
Erin’s Relationship with the Community of Academi......Page 319
Erin’s Relationship with the Community of Public......Page 323
Erin’s Writing Activity in Academia......Page 325
Erin’s Writing Activity in Public Relations......Page 329
Conclusion......Page 333
References......Page 335
Notes......Page 336
Introduction......Page 339
Big Picture People: The Problem of 'General' Education......Page 341
What Is Activity Theory and What Is It Good For?......Page 343
Learning by Expanding: The Problem of Con-text......Page 344
An Activity System......Page 346
People Act in Multiple, Linked Activity Systems......Page 348
Dialectical Contradictions......Page 349
Contradiction in Motives: Exchange Value v. Use Value (Doing School v. Doing ?)......Page 351
Contradiction in Tools and Object/Motive: Recall v. Expanding Involvement......Page 353
Contradiction Among Rules, Tools, and Object/Motive: Just What Are We DOING on This Assignment Anyway?......Page 354
Contradictions & Genre......Page 356
Students Personalize What Is Professionalized......Page 357
Genre Systems of History......Page 359
Using Contradictions for Learning by Expanding......Page 361
Making the Contradictions Productive of Expansive Learning......Page 364
Conclusion: The Challenge of Working Through Writing in Our Fields......Page 366
References......Page 367
Notes......Page 370
Legends of the Center: System, Self, and Linguistic Consciousness......Page 371
Standard and Center......Page 373
Verbal-ideological Consciousness......Page 374
Method: Eliciting Representations of Linguistic Consciousness......Page 377
Sounding “The Theme of Another’s Discourse”......Page 378
Reading “The Theme of Another’s Discourse”......Page 383
The Developmental Curve and the Chronotope of the Center......Page 386
Types and Rules......Page 388
Conclusion......Page 391
Acknowledgements......Page 396
References......Page 397
Notes......Page 398
Accounting for Conflicting Mental Models of Communication in Student-Teacher Interaction: An Activity Theory Analysis1......Page 401
Limitations of Transmission Models of Communication......Page 402
Reliance on Transmission Models in Two College Classrooms......Page 404
Methodology......Page 405
The Classes Studied......Page 406
Data Analysis......Page 407
Accounting for Rick's Shifts......Page 409
Accounting for Lynn's Shifts......Page 415
Accounting for the Resilience of Transmission Models......Page 423
Looking Forward......Page 429
References......Page 432
Notes......Page 435
What Is Not Institutionally Visible Does Not Count: The Problem of Making Activity Assessable, Accountable, and Plannable......Page 436
1. Overview......Page 437
2. A Personal Preface......Page 438
3. The Tension Between Student-Centered and Subject-Centered Curricula and Assessment......Page 443
4. Interactions, People, and Large Institutions: The Paradoxes of Assessment......Page 448
5. Dewey and His Colleagues Confront Assessment......Page 452
6. The Dilemma of Assessment as Seen in the Teaching of Writing......Page 457
7. Alternative Assessment......Page 462
8. The Need for a New Approach to Assessment......Page 468
9. Genre and Activity Theory......Page 470
10. An Activity Analysis of Planning, Accountability, and Assessment of a Multi-disciplinary Project Based Learning Experience......Page 474
11. Discussion of the Case Study......Page 483
12. Importance of Issue and Implications of This Line of Solution......Page 484
References......Page 486
Dissertation Writers’ Negotiations with Competing......Page 491
An Activity Theory Analysis of Dissertation Writing......Page 493
Engeström’s Model of Development: Identifying an......Page 495
The Dissertation as Genre Social Action......Page 496
Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Dissertation Wr......Page 498
Competing Activity Systems of Dissertation Writers......Page 499
Graduate School......Page 500
Department......Page 503
Advisor and Committee......Page 506
Graduate Student Employment......Page 509
The Job Market......Page 511
Conclusion......Page 514
References......Page 516
Notes......Page 521
Producing Work and the Economy......Page 523
Producing Selves in Community......Page 525
Producing Education......Page 527
Editors......Page 529
Contributors......Page 530