The Thematic Foci of the Activity Analysis Center

by Oliver Ding

I used Hegel's concept theory to frame the thematic focus of the Activity Analysis Center.

  • Universal
  • Particular
  • Individual

At the Universal level, I pay attention to the theoretical tradition of Activity Theory and the community of those who are working on and using Activity Theory. Moreover, I also include other traditions in the context of Activity Theory.

I used a Sandwich meta-diagram to visualize the context of Activity Analysis. It points out that there are three types of theoretical resources for the Activity Analysis project:

  • The Hegel-Marx-Vygotsky Activity Theories: This is the tradition of Activity Theory
  • The Continental Tradition
  • The Pragmatist Tradition

At the Particular level, I pay attention to several domains I am interested such as:

  • Knowledge Engagement as Activity
  • Creative Development as Activity
  • Strategy as Activity
  • Platform-based Practice as Activity
  • Cultural Innovation as Activity

While working on developing knowledge frameworks, methods, and tools for these domains, I also incorporated ideas from other theoretical approaches, such as Ecological Psychology and Social Theories.

I used the above diagram to explain the concept of “culture” from the perspective of Project-oriented Activity Theory. It zooms out to a large view that connects the Individual mind (Idea) and Collective theme (Zeitgeist) through Collective Projects (Concept).

At the Individual level, I treat Activity Theory as a Practical Wisdom for understanding creative life development. This line of exploration is called "Life as Activity."

My own creations are primarily about developing ideas and tools for the "Life as Activity" approach.

General Practice (gPractice) means daily life as a general context of knowing. For example, personal growth, productivity, mental health, career value, and life meaning are typical issues for most adults.

Though activity theory is a theory for professional research, I do believe it is useful for ordinary people to reflect on their daily life. I suggest the following approach:

Life as Activity

We can see our daily life and the whole life as an activity. In fact, the founder of activity theory once considered using Life Theory to name his theory. According to Kaptelinin and Nardi (2006), “Leontiev’s ambition was to translate this general statement into a concrete description of how the first phenomena that can be called 'psyche' emerged in history, and how they developed into the current variety of mental phenomena. To accomplish this goal Leontiev needed a special kind of analytical tool, a concept more general than the psyche, that would make it possible to define the context in which the psyche emerges and develops. An obvious candidate for such a concept is ‘Life’ since ultimately this is what undergoes evolutionary change. However, this concept is too general and too vague. ‘Activity,’ as we will see below, was chosen by Leontiev as a concept that can provide a more concrete insight into what ‘Life’ is.”(pp.51–52)

Life is a wonderful activity!

More details can be seen in The Landscape of Activity Theory and CHAT.

v1.0: 503 words - September 4, 2025