The Fourth Congress of the International Society for Cultural
Research and Activity Theory, ISCRAT 1998
Activity Theory and Cultural Historical Approaches to Social Practice.
Aarhus University, Denmark, June 7-11, 1998.
Check the new ISCAR (formerly known as ISCRAT) web-site at
www.iscar.org
Activity theory originated in Russia with Vygotsky, El'konin, Leontiev and
Luria. Davydov and Lektorsky have contributed to its spread together with
several Western scholars, including Cole and Wertsch in USA, and Holzkamp,
Lompscher and Rückriem in Germany. During the past 20 years, several
conferences and seminars inside the activity paradigm were held in the
Scandinavian countries, Germany and the Netherlands, with Eastern and Western
European participants. These activities led to the first Activity Congress in
Berlin in 1986, and as a result of this congress, the International Society for
Cultural Research and Activity Theory (ISCRAT) was created and took
responsibility for the congresses in Lathi, Finland (1990), and Moscow, Russia
(1995).
In light of this tradition, the University of Aarhus, Denmark; Umeå
University, and Karlskrona/Ronneby University, Sweden are cooperating to
arrange ISCRAT's Fourth Congress. The focus of the fourth congress will be
Activity Theory and Cultural Historical Approaches to Social Practice.
The activity concept has transcended borders, disciplinary and geographical. It
has transcended borders between anthropology, biology, communication, human
computer interaction, pedagogy, philosophy and psychology. It has transcended
borders between Eastern and Western Europe. North America, Latin America and
Japan also have a tradition of research within activity theory. Furthermore,
the Vygotskian spirit has spread worldwide and several recent seminars and
conferences have honored his 100-year birthday. We hope to bring people
together at this congress from across these different borders to contribute to
the development of an activity research tradition.
The fourth ISCRAT congress has sucessfully been concluded.