Crisis and creativity: the development of cultural-historical theory in terms of a drama

Crisis and creativity constitute important concepts of the conceptual system of cultural-historical theory. The concept of crisis has been used by Vygotsky in the context of a critique of psychology as a “problematic” science as well for the articulation of the specific mechanisms related to psychological development. The concept of creativity has been employed by Vygotsky for the conceptualization of future-oriented human activity. The paper proposes that the concepts of “crisis “and “creativity” can be included in the study of the very process of development of Vygotsky’s theory. Vygotsky’s creative and dramatic journey was full of various crises, rapid transitions and transformations. Dialectics as a form of conceptualization of contradictions offer a profound insight into antinomies, tensions and crises in the process of the emergence and formations of cultural-historical theory that can be examined in terms of drama. Developing creative action is a way to respond to crises situations and to make the genuine effort to cope with them. The elaboration of cultural-historical theory can be considered in relation to Vygotsky’s attempt to cope with multiple challenges and crises (social, scientific, personal, etc.).