Culture, Mind and Dialogue

Description

Convenor: Dr Gerard Duveen (University of Cambridge)

Recent research has emphasized the sense of understanding psychological processes as socio-cultural products, which has generated considerable interest in understanding the ways in which these processes are embedded in specific contexts of practice and activity through the ways in which people participate in communicative encounters. Debate continues, however, about how the relations between context and process should be conceptualized. What, for instance, is the role of collective patterns of thought and representations in structuring the contexts for communication? How do psychological processes relate to hierarchies of power among social groups? And how should individual processes be understood from this perspective? Much of the debate about these questions has been focused on analyzing the concepts of culture, mind and dialogue as central terms for understanding the contextualization of psychological processes.

The primary aim of this conference is to advance these debates through discussion and dialogue among an international group of scholars and researchers in the forefront of this field of research. The conference has been organized around three key themes which focus in turn on (a) Dialogue, activity and development; (b) The individual in the matrix of culture, mind and dialogue; and (c) Dialogue, narrative and community.

A second aim is for the work of the conference to produce a high-level collection of papers for publication either as an edited volume or a special issue of a journal. To achieve this aim all of the invited speakers will be asked to prepare a draft of their paper for circulation before the conference, in order to ensure a high quality of discussion, both from the discussants asked to respond in each session, and more widely among those attending. These arrangements are intended to ensure that the final drafts of contributions benefit from a maximum of serious and informed comment and discussion.

Finally, the conference also aims to draw younger researchers into discussion with more experienced scholars. All of the discussants are either present or recent PhD students from the department. The conference will also form part of the teaching program for the MPhil in Social and Developmental Psychology. It will provide an exceptional opportunity for our students to benefit from participating in a meeting with a number of eminent figures in the field. As well as the speakers and MPhil students, we shall also be inviting other graduate students and colleagues from the Department and elsewhere in the University, as well as from other institutions in the UK. Our aim is bring together a group of active and interested participants reflecting a diversity of experience, but who will benefit from this opportunity for discussion and debate.

Attendance is by invitation only. Anyone interested should contact Dr Gerard Duveen (gmd10@cam.ac.uk ; Tel: 01223 338067).