Part I. Introduction James V. Wertsch, Pablo del Rio and Amelia Alvarez: Part II. Human Action: Historical and Theoretical Foundations: 1. Cultural-historical psychology and the psychological theory of activity: retrospect and prospect Vladimir P. Zinchenko; 2. The need for action in sociocultural research James V. Wertsch; 3. Theories of action, speech, natural language, and discourse Jean-Paul Bronckart; Part III. Mediation in Action: 4. Writing and the mind David R. Olson; 5. An approach to an integrated sensory-motor system in the human central brain and a subconscious computer Tadanobu Tsunoda; Part IV. Sociocultural Setting, Intersubjectivity, and the Formation of the Individual: 6. Observing sociocultural activity on three planes: participatory appropriation, guided participation, apprenticeship Barbara Rogoff; 7. The constitution of the subject: a persistent question Ana Luiza B. Smolka, Maria Cecilia R. Dee Goes, Angel Pino; Part V. Sociocultural Settings: Design and Intervention: 8. Socio-cultural-historical psychology: some general remarks and a proposal for a new kind of cultural-genetic methodology Michael Cole; 9. Tossing, praying, and thinking: the changing architectures of mind and agency Amelia Alvarez Rodriguez and Pablo del Río Pereda.