Vygotsky & Bernstein in the Light of Jewish Tradition

Vygotsky & Bernstein in the Light of Jewish Tradition examines the role that Jewish cultural tradition played in the work of the Russian psychologist Lev S. Vygotsky and the British sociologist Basil Bernstein by highlighting aspects of their respective lives and theories revealing significant influences of Jewish thoughts and beliefs. The authors demonstrate that theories and human life are dialectically interconnected: what research can reveal about a man can also provide a better understanding of the very nature of his theory. This book is a valuable resource for psychologists, sociologists and students interested in the sociocultural formation of mind.

Bella S. Kotik-Friedgut (PhD Moscow State University) is a professor of language acquisition and neuropsychology at the David Yelin College of Education, Jerusalem, Israel. She is the editor of the Hebrew translation of L.S. Vygotsky’s Language and Thinking (Magnes Press, 2006).Antonella Castelnuovo (PhD London University) is a professor of Intercultural Communication, University of Siena, Italy. She has been a visiting professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and at University of Massachusetts in Amherst (UMASS), U.S.A. Her publications include Ebrei e Protestanti nella storia d’Italia (Franco Angeli, 1996) Minoranze religiose e cultura europea (Franco Angeli, 1999), and the edited volume Giochi di ruolo e formazione interculturale (Carocci, 2007).