Veresov, N.N.

Background. The identification of key periods of development in cultural-historical theory is not just a task of historical interest. It may help to reconstruct the logics and the moving forces in the development of Vygotsky’s theoretical approaches at different periods and may thereby help to improve understanding of key concepts and principles. The area of dialogue to which this article contributes is contemporary perception of cultural-historical theory.

Objective. The aim is to analyse and reconstruct the evolution of theoretical thought of L.S. Vygotsky.

Methods. The research involved analysis of texts by L.S. Vygotsky, relating to different stages of his scientific path, biographical materials, analytical publications of authors studying the works of L.S. Vygotsky.

Results. As literature shows, there is a tendency to highlight some periods of Vygotsky’s theoretical path while underestimating others. In some cases, this limits the development of a holistic evolutionary approach to cultural-historical theory. The article begins with a description of the key stages of Vygotsky’s theoretical evolution with an emphasis on continuity and discontinuity. Then it presents and critically discusses two examples of perception of Vygotsky’s legacy, which are Gonzales Rey’s (2011) identification of “defining moments in Vygotsky’s work”, and Engeström’s (1987, 1990) account of “three generations of CHAT”.

Conclusions. Cultural-historical theory is a powerful living and developing theory which provides rich and strong theoretical and experimental tools for contemporary generations of researchers. New dialogues are required: however, a holistic evolutionary approach to the history of cultural-historical theory should remain on the agenda.