Re: RE: [xmca] Emotions and history

[Nancy Mack <nancy.mack@wright.edu>]

In Teaching with Emotion: A Postmodern Enactment, Michalinos  Zembylas does an excellent job of discussing the social regulation of emotion, particularly the emotional labor of teachers.
His work is excellent.

Nancy 



----- Original Message -----
From: Mabel Encinas <liliamabel@hotmail.com>
Date: Friday, December 4, 2009 1:35 am
Subject: RE: [xmca] Emotions and history
To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>

> 
> Hi, Jay and all.
>  
> 
> I think that the time dimensions you mention are very important 
> for understanding emotions both as individual and social. I 
> would add some other historic dimensions for the understanding 
> of emotions. What about finding some clues in Vygotsky, as 
> Scribner (in Vygotsky's uses of history, image in p. 141) and 
> Cole (in Cultural Psychology, image in p. 185)? We would then 
> have more elements for understanding emotions as cultural and 
> historical. For example, at the micro-level, we could observe 
> the way in which emotions emerge, and are performed; how 
> emotions are socially regulated. And how they change. Over time, 
> there seem to be an important role of consciousness, including 
> volitional aspects in the regulation of emotions, as some others 
> have pointed in this thread. Vygotsky indicated that emotions 
> were linked to the central system; neuroscience, has presented 
> the involvement of the brain, particularly the frontal lobe, in 
> this process. The changes in emotions are not individual only. 
> At the microlevel we can observe the social regulation of 
> emotions, and in this way, how emotions are learned. At other 
> historical levels, we can see that for example the expression of 
> emotions changes in relation to gender, social class, and those, 
> in relation to the particular culture. In the microanalysis that 
> I do of secondary schools (junior high schools) in Mexico, not 
> only the content, but also the way in which emotions emerge in 
> the classroom seem to be important.
> 
> 
> Maybe, the historical understanding of emotions can help us to 
> understand how it is possible that as adults still we can cry or 
> blush, or feel anger even if we do not want. In Gestalt -the one 
> that I use-, the approach to the here and now, allows that the 
> person brings emotions to the consciousness. The idea behind, in 
> my plain English version, is that the acceptation of an emotions 
> helps in working through it.
> 
> 
> I think that the constant comparisons between the diverse time 
> scales is an important aspect of understanding emotions, as well.
> 
> And I agree with you, Jay, that we could work in teams with 
> neuroscientists :)
> 
> Sorry I have not yet developed this enough, but I have been 
> trying to post, I got a second cold in the month, and... and I 
> worry that the new article is there.
> 
> 
> Mabel
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
>  
> 
> > From: jaylemke@umich.edu
> > To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > Subject: Re: [xmca] Emotions and culture
> > Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 20:27:54 -0800
> > 
> > 
> > Mabel and Larry focus on what I think is a key issue in 
> understanding 
> > emotion. First, that emotions are generated in time, as a 
> process. It 
> > is a process in which we ourselves are ACTIVE, and not, as in 
> some 
> > folk theories taken over into psychological models, merely 
> reacting to 
> > external events and conditions. Second, its genesis takes 
> place over 
> > multiple timescales. There is the very short term, moment-to-
> moment, 
> > rise and fall of various feelings, their layering onto one 
> another, 
> > the transitions from one to another. Then there is a longer-
> term 
> > tendency, closer to the mood of the "moment" (which is a much 
> longer 
> > moment than the first timescale), which may define a trend in 
> the 
> > progression of our feelings. And this in turn is coupled more 
> into the 
> > situation and setting, who else is there, what is going on, 
> what is 
> > the activity and the goals that we are engaged with. Then 
> further, 
> > there are still longer term scales, over months or years of 
> our lives, 
> > which merge more into social processes and the expectations of 
> the 
> > culture and subcultures, the communities we operate within.
> > 
> > I very much like the idea of ethnographic neuroscience, and I 
> wish 
> > there were more neuroscientists who did! but they are not 
> trained in 
> > this way, and it requires a collaboration at least. It is so 
> much 
> > easier for them to study only short-term, isolated, laboratory-
> 
> > controlled events as they appear in their neuro-physiological 
> > correlates, which makes sense if they imagine that they are 
> looking at 
> > universal processes, which occur in the same way every time.
> > 
> > But of course they don't, and how they appear is very context 
> > dependent. At least we know this is the case in terms of how 
> they feel 
> > to us, and how they emerge over the shorter and longer 
> timescales of 
> > relevance. It would be very interesting to know what is the 
> same and 
> > what is different across cases and events, in different 
> situations and 
> > settings, for "the same" emotional response. This will, I 
> think, be on 
> > the agenda of the neuroscience of a decade or two from now.
> > 
> > JAY.
> > 
> > 
> > Jay Lemke
> > Professor (Adjunct, 2009-2010)
> > Educational Studies
> > University of Michigan
> > Ann Arbor, MI 48109
> > www.umich.edu/~jaylemke
> > 
> > Visiting Scholar
> > Laboratory for Comparative Human Communication
> > University of California -- San Diego
> > La Jolla, CA
> > USA 92093
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > On Dec 1, 2009, at 1:58 PM, Mabel Encinas wrote:
> > 
> > >
> > > Hi, Larry and all.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Thank you very much Larry, for having introduced Stern. I am 
> not 
> > > into psychoanalysis. I am a Gestalt psychotherapist, and 
> maybe 
> > > because this perspective emphasizes the 'here and now', I 
> realised 
> > > that I had to discuss the present moment, and the 
> performative 
> > > making sense of the situation when I faced the challenge to 
> analyse 
> > > my videos about classroom interaction. Also, I discuss the 
> > > difference of actions that seem intentionally loaded, with 
> others in 
> > > which intentionality is quite contestable. My research is 
> based in 
> > > microanalysis. For being able to study emotions, I decided 
> to study 
> > > Vygotsy's understanding of emotions. Also I found in this 
> analysis 
> > > of video (I did not interview neither the teachers or the 
> students 
> > > about their emotional experience, although I did had long 
> > > conversations with the teachers), that in order to 
> understand 
> > > videos, there was important to find 'whole' situations in 
> which 
> > > emotions were first of all 'evident'. The segments then were 
> from 
> > > about 1 to 4 minutes long, and I then describe them in 
> depth, 
> > > including drawings of the interactions. I study this 
> excerpts as 
> > > developmental in terms of emotions. I already said that the 
> metaphor 
> > > I use is that I study certain threads without taking them 
> away from 
> > > the tissue. In my descriptions, I present the richness of 
> the tissue 
> > > and I relay in the concept of context that weave together 
> (Cole, 
> > > 1996). I discuss how emotions emerge and impact the 
> situation, and 
> > > how this impact 'informes' in turn the sense that 
> individuals keep 
> > > making of the situation instant after instant.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > My conclusions are more about the way in which emotions can 
> be 
> > > studied, and I pose questions to neuroscience, as I see 
> Stern does! 
> > > I suggest to do 'ethnographic nueroscience'. Stern (2004) says:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > " Two kinds of data are needed. First, accurate timing of 
> brain 
> > > activity correlated with phenomenal experiences. Second, the 
> timing 
> > > of th analogic shifts in intensity or magnitude of neural 
> firing 
> > > during the same phenomenal expereinces".
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I have to read more about Stern, I would like to understand 
> what are 
> > > the similarities and differences with Vygotsky's thought, 
> and the 
> > > usefulness of Stern's contribution. So far, so good :)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Best wishes,
> > >
> > > Mabel
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >> Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 12:45:44 -0800
> > >> From: lpurss@shaw.ca
> > >> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> > >> Subject: [xmca] Emotions and culture
> > >>
> > >> Hi everyone
> > >> I wanted to look at another level of the discourse on 
> emotions. 
> > >> This is to add to the recognition of the other levels such 
> as 
> > >> institutionally and historically contexts of emotion. This 
> in no 
> > >> way minimizes the critical importance of these levels of 
> process 
> > >> for understanding emotion.
> > >> But, in the same spirit of discourse analysis which loos at 
> the 
> > >> micro level of conversation I believe we expand our horizon 
> of 
> > >> understanding by exploring the microgenesis of emotions as 
> the 
> > >> interface between biology and culture. I have posted before 
> on the 
> > >> position of Daniel Stern and the moment by moment 
> generation of 
> > >> emotion. Today I want to summarize the thoughts of a DONNEL 
> B. 
> > >> Stern to this discussion in his book "Unformulated Experience"
> > >>
> > >> (p.43)When we talk about content or structure or experience 
> it is 
> > >> not a THING at all, but a PROCESS, one that has CONTINUITY 
> OVER 
> > >> TIME. Some processes have more continuity (organization) 
> some less. 
> > >> We act AS IF these discrete abstractions which our folk 
> psychologhy 
> > >> labels thoughts, memories, feelings, are REAL but they are 
> socially 
> > >> mediated constructions that locates experience in 
> PARTICULAR stable 
> > >> ways. Psychoanalysis is interested in how these processes 
> keep 
> > >> reproducing experience in similar shapes or patterns 
> through 
> > >> interpretive organizing ACTIVITY.
> > >> Stern discusses a psychoanalyst "ROY SCHAFER" who attempts 
> to 
> > >> translate all psychological events and language games into 
> ACTION 
> > >> LANGUAGE to recognize these psychological events as 
> ACTIVITY. 
> > >> Schafer chooses not to take this approach because 
> communication 
> > >> becomes awkward.
> > >>
> > >> However he does elaborate the processes of REFLECTIVE 
> EXPERIENCE 
> > >> (where we stand back from and observe our phenomicological 
> > >> processes. Folk psychology (common sense) leaves the 
> impression 
> > >> that thoughts and emotions just arrive or leap into 
> existence 
> > >> without the DEVELOPMENT of the thought or emotion. In 
> reality each 
> > >> moment of experience is a process of emergence 
> (MICROGENESIS) a 
> > >> sequence of necessary steps that must occur as experience 
> UNFOLDS. 
> > >> Microgenesis, applied to thought and emotion develops from 
> moment 
> > >> to moment in a process Donnel Stern calls FORMULATIND THE 
> > >> UNFORMULATED. The microgenetic lens emphasizes the 
> developmental 
> > >> life (Dewey's "arc") of each present moment OUT OF the 
> experience 
> > >> of the recently formulated experience. Conscious, explicit, 
> > >> liquistically articulated experience (formulated)emerges 
> from 
> > >> activity (verbal and nonverbal) that took place in the 
> preceding 
> > >> (sociocultural) moments. This emergence of experience 
> INCLUDING 
> > >> THAT PART THAT ARRIVES IN AWARENESS is ORGANIC and CULTURAL 
> and is 
> > >> a continuous dynamic process. Sometimes AFTER THE FACT the 
> way one 
> > >> moment developed from the PREVIOUS one COMES TO OUR 
> ATTENTION but 
> > >> more often it does not.
> > >> Donnel Stern uses the terms thought and emotion as 
> heuristic 
> > >> devices and stress that he sees these processes as a single 
> process 
> > >> of COGNITION (which for him is emotional-thought or 
> thoughtful- 
> > >> emotion) Cognition is formulated as a process of emergence 
> within 
> > >> sociocultural activity.
> > >> William Blake's metaphor "seeing the world in a grain of 
> sand" 
> > >> captures the spirit of this inquiry at the microgenetic 
> level. If 
> > >> this is seen as the unit of analysis it posits identity, 
> > >> subjectivity, and self-ing as emergent in moment to moment 
> > >> enactments which become organized into cultural patterns.
> > >>
> > >> I hope this captures the spirit of the relational frame 
> emerging in 
> > >> psychoanalytic discourse. They also are elaborating how the 
> micro, 
> > >> meso, and macro levels of process develop in particulat 
> historical 
> > >> contexts.
> > >>
> > >> _______________________________________________
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> > > 
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