Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-09T16:17:56.885Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 2 - Toward a Power-Sensitive Conceptualization of Transformative Agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2023

By
Annalisa Sannino
Edited by
Nick Hopwood  and
Annalisa Sannino
Nick Hopwood
Affiliation:
University of Technology, Sydney
Annalisa Sannino
Affiliation:
Tampere University, Finland
Get access

Summary

A contribution to discussions of agency and change from the perspective of cultural-historical activity theory consists of findings on transformative agency by double stimulation (TADS). Aspects of these discussions revolve around the hidden, unrecognized and often suppressed power of hybrid coalitions coming together contribute to making a more just and sustainable world. This chapter presents a theoretical argument supported by empirical examples showing that TADS is intrinsically a power-sensitive conceptualization of agency. The chapter engages in dialogue with and expands on the proposition of power in the sociology of real utopias, arguing that, despite the strong dialectical and progressive stance it adopts, this perspective is still predominantly based on accounts and critiques of how power is played out. A chronological account of two subsequent studies on eradicating homelessness helps construct an expanded proposition in which TADS can serve a key generating and mediating function of power.

Keywords

cultural-historical activity theorytransformative agency by double stimulationhidden, unrecognized and often suppressed powerhybrid coalitions for a just and sustainable worldsociology of real utopiaseradicating homelessnessgenerating and mediating powerconflicts of motivessymbolic artifacts as mediators
Type
Chapter
Information
Agency and Transformation
Motives, Mediation, and Motion
 , pp. 35 - 55
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbé Pierre Foundation & FEANTSA (2018). Third overview of housing exclusion in Europe. www.feantsa.org/download/full-report-en1029873431323901915.pdf.Google Scholar
Avis, J. (2004). Transformation or transformism: Engeström’s version of activity theory? Educational Review, 61(2), 151–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910902844754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blackler, F. (2011). Power, politics, and intervention theory: Lessons from organization studies. Theory & Psychology, 21(5), 724–734. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0959354311418146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Callinicos, A. (2009). Making history: Agency, structure, and change in social theory. Haymarket Books.Google Scholar
Donatelli, S., Vilela, R. A. D. G., Querol, M. A. P. & Gemma, S. F. B. (2020). Collective development of a flow of care for children and teenagers exposed to work: Using the double stimulation method. Interface-Comunicação, Saúde, Educação, 24. https://doi.org/10.1590/interface.190798.Google Scholar
Engeström, Y., Nuttall, J. & Hopwood, N. (2022). Transformative agency by double stimulation: Advances in theory and methodology. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 30(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2020.1805499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engeström, Y. & Sannino, A. (2021). From mediated actions to heterogeneous coalitions: Four generations of activity-theoretical studies of work and learning. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 28(1), 4–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esmonde, I. & Booker, A. N. (2016). Power and sociocultural theories of learning. In Power and privilege in the learning sciences (pp. 24–45). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fung, A. & Wright, E. O. (2003). Deepening democracy: Institutional innovations in empowered participatory governance. Verso.Google Scholar
Harman, C. (2008). A people’s history of the world: From the Stone Age to the New Millennium. Verso.Google Scholar
Hartley, D. (2004). Education policy, distributed leadership and socio‐cultural theory. Educational Review, 61(2), 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131910902844721.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, Y. J. (2011). More than just story‐telling: Cultural–historical activity theory as an under‐utilized methodology for educational change research. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43(3), 403–424. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2010.513069.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levine, A. (1984). Arguing for socialism: Theoretical considerations. Verso.Google Scholar
Lewis, C., Enciso, P. E. & Moje, E. B. (Eds.). (2020). Reframing sociocultural research on literacy: Identity, agency, and power. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liberali, F., Fuga, V. P. & Lopes, J. C. B. (2021). The creation of the viable unheard of as a revolutionary activity. In Beshara, R. K. (Ed.), Critical psychology praxis (pp. 85–99). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marx, K. (1971). A contribution to the critique of political economy. Lawrence and Wishart.Google Scholar
Meléndez, J. W. (2021). Latino immigrants in civil society: Addressing the double-bind of participation for expansive learning in participatory budgeting. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 30(1), 76–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2020.1807349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morris, C., Reid, A. M., Ledger, A. & Teodorczuk, A. (2021). Expansive learning in medical education: Putting Change Laboratory to work. Medical Teacher, 43(1), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1796948.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morselli, D. & Sannino, A. (2021). Testing the model of double stimulation in a Change Laboratory. Teaching and Teacher Education, 97, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nasir, N. & Hand, V. (2006). Exploring sociocultural perspectives on race, culture, and learning. Review of Educational Research, 76(4), 449–475. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F00346543076004449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuttall, J. (2022). Formative interventions and the ethics of double stimulation for transformative agency in professional practice. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 30(1), 111–128. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2020.1805498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pleace, N., Knutagård, M., Granfelt, R. & Culhane, D. (2016). The strategic response to homelessness in Finland. In Nichols, N. & Doberstein, C. (Eds.), Exploring effective systems responses to homelessness (pp. 425–441). Toronto: The Homeless Hub Press.Google Scholar
Sannino, A. (2011). Activity theory as an activist and interventionist theory. Theory & Psychology, 21(5), 571–597. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354311417485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sannino, A. (2015). The emergence of transformative agency and double stimulation: Activity-based studies in the Vygotskian tradition. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 4, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2014.07.001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sannino, A. (2020). Enacting the utopia of eradicating homelessness: Toward a new generation of activity-theoretical studies of learning. Studies in Continuing Education, 42(2), 163–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037x.2020.1725459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sannino, A. (2022). Transformative agency as warping: How collectives accomplish change amid uncertainty. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 30(1), 9–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2020.1805493.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sannino, A. & Engeström, Y. (2018). Cultural-historical activity theory: Founding insights and new challenges. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 14(3), 43–56. https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2018140304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sannino, A., Engeström, Y. & Jokinen, E. (2021). Digital peer learning for transformative professional agency: The case of homelessness practitioners in Finland. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(4), 1612–1628. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Virkkunen, J. & Newnham, D. S. (2013). The Change Laboratory. Sense.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vygotsky, L. S. (1997). The history of development of higher mental functions, Chapter 12: Self-control. In Rieber, R. W. (Ed.), The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: The history of the development of higher mental functions, Vol. 4 (pp. 207–219). Plenum.Google Scholar
Wheelahan, L. (2007). Blending activity theory and critical realism to theorise the relationship between the individual and society and the implications for pedagogy. Studies in the Education of Adults, 39(2), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2007.11661548.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, E. O. (2010). Envisioning real utopias. Verso.Google Scholar
Wright, E. O. (2017). Real utopias. In Beauchesne, K. & Santos, A. (Eds.), Performing utopias in the contemporary Americas (pp. 151–160). Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, E. O. (2019). How to be an anticapitalist in the twenty-first century. Verso.Google Scholar
Y-Foundation (2017). A home of your own: Housing First and ending homelessness in Finland. Otava. https://ysaatio.fi/assets/files/2018/01/A_Home_of_Your_Own_lowres_spreads.pdf,Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×