Drawing on philosophy, the history of psychology and the natural sciences, this book proposes a new theoretical foundation for the psychology of the life course. It features the study of unique individual life courses in their social and cultural environment, combining the perspectives of developmental and sociocultural psychology, psychotherapy, learning sciences and geronto-psychology. In particular, the book highlights semiotic processes, specific to human development, that allow us to draw upon past experiences, to choose among alternatives and to plan our futures. Imagination is an important outcome of semiotic processes and enables us to deal with daily constraints and transitions, and promotes the transformation of social representation and symbolic systemsgiving each person a unique style, or 'melody', of living. The book concludes by questioning the methodology and epistemology of current life course studies.

Against the prevailing view that progress in science is characterised by the progressive accumulation of knowledge, Thomas Kuhn's (1962) Structure of scientific revolutions introduced the idea of revolutionary paradigm shifts. For Kuhn, everyday science is normal science in which scientists are engaged in problem solving set in the context of a widely accepted paradigm that comprises a broad theoretical framework, an agreement on researchable phenomena and on the appropriate methodology. But, on occasions normal science throws up vexing issues and anomalous results. In response, some scientists carry on regardless, while others begin to lose confidence in the paradigm and to look to other options -rival paradigms. As more and more scientists switch allegiance to the rival paradigm, the revolution gathers pace, supported by the indoctrination of students through lectures, academic papers, and textbooks. In response to critics, including Lakatos who suggested that Kuhn's depiction reduced scientific progress to mob psychology, Kuhn himself offered a set of criteria that contributed to the apparent 'gestalt switch' from the old to the new paradigm. But that is another story, as indeed is Kuhn's claim that the social sciences are pre-paradigmatic, i.e. that the only consensus is that there is no consensus.Yet, consider this paragraph from a leading theorist of social psychology, Michael Billig (1991, pp.57-58):

Focusing on identity development explorations enables a greater understanding of contexts that affect immigrant adolescents. Utilizing thematic and grounded narrative analysis of 46 journal writings, during a one-month period, from first and second generation Vietnamese adolescents ranging in age from 15 to 18 (26 residents of a culturally and politically active ethnic enclave in Southern California; 20 adolescents living outside the enclave), this study establishes ways in which a focus on social context and exploration processes illuminates the complexity of immigrant adolescents' identity formation. The two groups shared many similarities, including precipitants to exploration and steps undertaken to explore identity. However, two factors-social and cultural influences and emotional reactions-revealed interesting contrasts distinguishing enclave from non-enclave dwelling Vietnamese adolescents. Data also suggested that immigrant adolescents strive to integrate different domains of identity (ethnicity, gender, career) both with one another and with the historical, social, and cultural contexts they occupy.

ISBN-13: 9780195396430 Table of Contents Contents Part I. Historical linkages of culture and psychology Introduction: Culture in Psychology: A renewed encounter of inquisitive minds Jaan Valsiner 1. Culture and psychology: words and ideas in history Gustav Jahoda 2. Và ¶lkerpsychologie Rainer Diriwächter 3. Cultural-historical psychology: Contributions of Lev Vygotsky René van der Veer Part II. Inter-and intra-disciplinary perspectives 4. The role of indigenous psychologies in the building of basic cultural psychology Pradeep Chakkarath 5. Cultural anthropology Susan Rasmussen 6. Cross-cultural psychology: Taking people, contexts and situations seriously Heidi Keller 7. Archaeology and the study of material culture: synergies with cultural psychology Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal

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Theory and History in the Human and Social Sciences will fill in the gap in the existing coverage of links between new theoretical advancements in the social and human sciences and their historical roots. Making that linkage is crucial for the interdisciplinary synthesis across the disciplines of psychology, anthropology, sociology, history, semiotics, and the political sciences. In contemporary human sciences of the 21st there exists increasing differentiation between neurosciences and all other sciences that are aimed at making sense of the complex social, psychological, and political processes. Thus new series has the purpose of (1) coordinating such efforts across the borders of existing human and social sciences, (2) providing an arena for possible inter-disciplinary theoretical syntheses, (3) bring into attention of our contemporary scientific community innovative ideas that have been lost in the dustbin of history for no good reasons, and (4) provide an arena for international communication between social and human scientists across the World.

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