How do we, as humans, learn to understand and make sense of other’s actions, gestures, affective displays from early on in life? how do we become competent participants in the socio-cultural practices and contexts we live in?

Starting from early studies based on neonatal observation, in this talk I propose a situated and embodied view of socio-cognitive development as an early-emerging, dynamic process necessarily intertwined with early experiences of being engaged with others in social activities. In discussing how this process is built up from the very beginning of life, I will draw on a variety of approaches, among which Second-person approaches, Dynamic System Theory, Ethnomethodology, Phenomenology and Ecological Psychology, to review evidence of key aspects shaping (and being shaped by) the development of early social cognition: embodied and situated action understanding, interactional timing and sequentiality, interactional kinematics and participatory sense-making processes.

Speaker: Valentina Fantasia, PhD, Associate Senior Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy

Those who cannot attend the seminar on Campus can join the seminar via Zoom: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/63329073247