ABSTRACT
In.this.chapter.I.wish.to.explore.the.extent.to.which.two.approaches.to.the. social. formation. of. mind. are. compatible. and. may. be. used. to. enrich. and. extend.each.other..It. is.an.extension.of.thinking.that.I.have.been.developing. in. two. academic. communities:. those. concerned. with. activity. theory. (AT).as.developed.by.Yrjo.Engeström,.which.is.derived.from.the.work.of.the. early.Russian.psychologists.Vygotsky.and.Leontiev,.and.the.studies.of.the. sociologist.Basil.Bernstein..The.two.approaches.deal.with.a.common.theme. from.different.perspectives..The.Vygotskian.unit.of.empirical.and.conceptual.analysis.was.word.meaning..In.Engeström’s.hands,. the.unit.of.analysis.becomes.the.activity.system.in.which.the.individual.was.located..In.the. attempt.to.develop.an.account.of.social. formation,. the.gaze.falls.either.on. the.individual.in.dialogue.or.the.object-oriented.activity.system..The.notion. of.the.object.of.activity-the.problem.space.or.raw.material.that.was.being. worked.on.in.an.activity-is.central.to.the.work.of.Leontiev..The.object.is.that.
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