Epistemology, Politics, and Ethics in Sociocultural Theory

This article describes the history and continuing development of Vygotsky‐inspired sociocultural theories (SCT) and their application in second and foreign language research. In particular, I emphasize the intellectual traditions out of which SCT emerged and the relation of SCT to other critical scholarship. The discussion includes long‐standing as well as recent conceptual and methodological innovations in SCT research, the philosophical entailments of SCT in regard to epistemology and ethical issues, and a select review of SCT second language studies.