Contents

• Short Bio and Contact Info
• Research Stats
• Research Interests
• Biography
• Education
• Awards
• Peer reviewed scholarly publications
• Invited and other scholarly publications
• Published translations
• Interviews and media coverage

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Short Bio and Contact Info

I teach developmental psychology at York University. My primary interest, there, is in helping students to help children. That said, however, my goals as a teacher relate to my primary concerns as a writer.

As an historian and theoretician, my contribution to the science of psychology comes by way of clearly explaining ideas that have previously not been well-understood, or which have been dismissed for reasons that no longer make sense. To this end, I have found that there is nothing better to encourage clear thinking than interacting with students in the classroom: if they’re bored, or can’t understand, then the writing won’t be effective either. My goal is therefore to entertain and explain, both in class and outside of it; this material is difficult, but it doesn't have to be painful.

Students in PSYC2110 and PSYC4510, please use the following email address for your correspondence: "jtb -/!AT/- yorku -/D.OT/- ca" (but without the extra characters)

All others, please use: "jtburman -/AT!/- yorku -/DO,T/- ca"
(Please send large attachments to Gmail: "jtburman -/A_T/- gmail -/D*OT/- com")

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Research Stats

• I have published 9 scholarly essays in academic journals.
• I have 5 new manuscripts presently under review or in revision.
  • 1 revised and resubmitted
  • 2 under review
  • 1 invited, in revision
  • 1 reprint, abridged with new intro and conclusion
• In support of these efforts, I have presented...
  • 5 departmental colloquia
  • 13 refereed conference talks
  • 11 invited guest lectures
  • 5 invited talks
  • on 5 departmental panels
  • and 1 scholarly discussion session
• I have also organized...
  • 3 symposia
  • 1 continuing education course
• My article, "The misunderstanding of memes: Biography of an unscientific object, 1976-1999," is that journal's most popular download.
• My publications have been cited 20 times and my h-index is 2.

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Research Interests

• History of developmental psychology, esp. Piaget, Janet, Baldwin
• History of Piagetian theory, esp. his “origins” (1910-1929), “American rediscovery” (1950-1964), and “new theory” (1964-1980)
• Historical methods, historiography, and philosophy of history, esp. indigenization, naturalization, translation theory, conservation of meaning across contexts
• Public understanding of science, esp. the intersection between psychology and biology
• The “new biology” in psychology—epigenetics, evo-devo, gene-environment interactions, perinatal programming, developmental plasticity—and its relationship with developmental systems theory, dynamic systems, etc.
• Knowledge translation, mobilization, dissemination, transfer and exchange, utilization, etc.
  

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Biography

I am contract faculty at York University in Toronto, Canada, and a senior doctoral student in the history and theory program of the department of psychology. I received my initial training in psychology at the University of Toronto (HonBSc '04) and in interdisciplinary studies at York (MA '09). In the space between, I worked as an associate producer and web producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. But I started my career during the Dot-Com Bubble of the 1990s. Questions regarding what happened then are what led to my interests now: How could so little come to be worth so much? (Or, in the downturn, how could so much be thought to be worth so little?)

Today, my major research focus appropriates topics, methods, and approaches from the intersection between the history of psychology and the history of biology. I tend to work primarily—although not exclusively—on projects related to how Jean Piaget's ideas were imported, popularized, and naturalized into American Psychology from their origins in French Switzerland. This may seem to have only a tenuous connection to my earlier work. (How is Piaget, the stage-theory guy, related to perceptions of value?) Yet the connection is provided by the history of how he came to his later theories regarding child development and the construction of knowledge. This in turn informs my general outlook.

Generally speaking, my efforts are directed toward understanding how we understand the processes by which those who know very little grow and change and develop until the point when they know and understand and can do quite a lot. In other words, I use my work on concrete historical topics as a way to ask harder questions about how explanatory narratives are constructed and how their meanings are communicated in translation, mobilization, and popularization. In addition to my work on how we understand Piaget, however, I have also written about this problem from the perspective of education and of memes (so called "idea viruses"), as well as how we can conceive of what it feels like to belong to the groups that emerge around shared understandings.

My secondary research area focuses on some of the unknown history shared by epigenetics (in evolutionary-developmental biology) and dynamic systems theory (in developmental psychology). The goal of this work is to use historical methods to contribute to contemporary research in experimental psychology and behavioral epigenetics. Again, though, my intent is to encourage a different kind of thinking than that suggested and reinforced by the literature: thinking that is consistent with the evidence, to be sure, but also less constrained by the present aesthetic. This is necessary because we can't be sure that present beliefs aren't being influenced by a Bubble: everything we believe today feels solid, but—as I saw at the end of the Dot-Com era—bubbles burst.

Most recently, I have returned to my roots in software R&D to collaborate on a series of projects in "digital history" and "the digital humanities." These are being undertaken under the supervision of Chris Green at York University, with whom I had previously collaborated to create the Advances in the History of Psychology blog. We are developing a working group, with immediate plans to present a symposium at the upcoming meeting of the Society for the History of Psychology (APA Division 26), but aim ultimately to apply for some of the new grants that have been created to support such ventures.

I teach developmental psychology with Stuart Shanker in the Fall and solo in the Winter. Together, we also occasionally co-supervise historical or theoretical independent studies courses and undergraduate theses. (You can read what my students think about me here.) Most recently, our honours student—Mike Vertolli—presented a very solid paper at the annual meeting of the Jean Piaget Society in Berkeley, CA.

I have served on the board of advisors for the psychology search engine, PsycINFO, since 2007. As a result, I have had the good fortune to participate in the expansion of the PsycEXTRA database (to include thousands of new "grey literature" sources acquired through a partnership with the Archives of the History of American Psychology) and the development of the new PsycTESTS and PsycTHERAPY databases. I am also a member of the Emerging Scholars Committee at the Jean Piaget Society.

I have reviewed manuscripts for History of Psychology, New Ideas in Psychology, and the Journal for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology. I am a regular reviewer of papers presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association (HPP section). And, this year, I also reviewed papers for the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (APA Division 24).

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Education

PhD in Psychology
York University, September 2007 – Present
Dr. Christopher D. Green (dissertation advisor)
Dr. Stuart G. Shanker (minor area advisor)

MA in Interdisciplinary Studies
York University, 2009
Dr. Matthew Clark, Dr. Jan Sapp, Dr. Fred Weizmann (thesis advisors)

From ‘Genetic’ to ‘Epigenetic’ Epistemology: The Forgotten Works of Jean Piaget, 1965-1974.
Jean Piaget was one of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century. Yet his theory regarding "the genesis of knowledge" (genetic epistemology) has been badly misunderstood. As a result, many of the criticisms it attracted were misdirected; remedies provided to address problems that never were. To complicate matters further, the most mature of Piaget's works--those developed in the last decade of his life--have been described as promulgating a "new theory" that would revolutionize the textbook presentation of his ideas. The suggestion, there, is that this "new" Piaget should be presented as a contemporary figure; the author of an evolutionary-developmental framework that could contribute anew to those fields influenced by the "old" Piaget's decades of work. The challenge, here, is therefore double: to put the "new theory" in context by reviewing the history of its emergence, while at the same time excavating the larger theory that informed those works. (Get it at the Proquest Dissertation Database.)

BSc (Honours) in Psychology and Employment Relations
Trinity College, University of Toronto, 2004

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Awards

2012     York University—President's University Wide Teaching Award
2011     Government of Ontario—Ontario Graduate Scholarship
2010     Science Directorate, American Psychological Association—Student Travel Award
2010     Jacobs Foundation/Jean Piaget Society—International Emerging Scholars Award
2010     Council of Canadian Departments of Psych.—Certificate of Teaching Excellence
2009     Jean Piaget Society—Pufall Award
2007     York University—York Graduate Award
2006     Government of Ontario—Ontario Student Opportunity Trust Fund Award
2004     University of Toronto Alumni Assoc.—Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award
2000     University of Toronto Innovations Foundation—Most Promising Business Award
1999     Rotary Club of Southern Ontario—Rotary Youth Leadership Award
1999     Government of Ontario—Ontario Scholar

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Peer-reviewed scholarly publications

4. Burman, J. T. (2012b). The misunderstanding of memes: Biography of an unscientific object, 1976-1999. Perspectives on Science, 20(1), 75-104. doi:10.1162/POSC_a_00057

When the “meme” was introduced in 1976, it was as a metaphor intended to illuminate an evolutionary argument. By the late-1980s, however, we see from its use in major US newspapers that this original meaning had become obscured. The meme became a virus of the mind. (In the UK, this occurred slightly later.) It is also now clear that this becoming involved complex sustained interactions between scholars, journalists, and the letter-writing public. We must therefore read the “meme” through lenses provided by its popularization. The results are in turn suggestive of the processes of meaning construction in scholarly communication more generally. [Get the PDF here, open access, courtesy of MIT Press]

3. Burman, J. T. (2012a). History from within? Contextualizing the new neurohistory and seeking its methods. History of Psychology, 15(1), 84-99. doi:10.1037/a0023500

“Histories from below” sought to give voice to those ordinary folk whose social position had failed to afford them great power, wealth, or responsibility: the neglected undocumented. Now, Lynn Hunt (2009) calls for a revolution that would task historians with giving voice to feelings—what I will call a “history from within.” This is what led her to endorse Daniel Lord Smail's (2008) suggestion that historians appeal to neuroscience and thereby construct a “new neurohistory.” The purpose would be to introduce a common factor to all human stories: a tool to think with when describing what it was like (cf. Nagel, 1974). If successful, this would be quite powerful: in Hunt's view, such a project could lead to a universalization of human rights. But the program is not without challenges, one of which is to provide an acceptable explanation for the type of looping causation that applies to bio-cultural kinds. Smail's solution involves an appeal to evolutionary theory, but how this solves the problem of causation is not clear. Here, therefore, an attempt is made to clarify his solution. Smail and Hunt's views on the role of evidence in history are also made plain. The paper then concludes by importing related ideas from the recent history of philosophy. If one is going to have a brain-based view of felt-history, then the neurohistorian's task is to situate historical individuals in contexts of shared experience—to not just read evidence through lenses of intellectual “thought collectives” (generalized from paradeigma), but also through “experiential” or “moral categories” (aisthánomai).

2. Burman, J. T. (2008). Experimenting in relation to Piaget: Education is a chaperoned process of adaptation. Perspectives on Science, 16(2), 160-195. doi:10.1162/posc.2008.16.2.160

This essay takes – as its point of departure – Cavicchi’s (2006) argument that knowledge develops through experimentation, both in science and in educational settings. In attempting to support and extend her conclusions, which are drawn in part from the replication of some early tasks in the history of developmental psychology, the late realist-constructivist theory of Jean Piaget is presented and summarized. This is then turned back on the subjects of Cavicchi’s larger enquiry (education and science) to offer a firmer foundation for future debate. Several of Piaget’s “forgotten works” are discussed; their theoretical contributions synthesized to form a single interdisciplinary, cross-pollinating narrative describing how it is that both children and scientists grow into the world. (In addition, translated excerpts from two related historical documents have been provided in an appendix, while detailed footnotes add further context and integrate the discussion with current advances in related fields.) [Get the PDF here.]

1. Burman, J. T. (2007). Piaget no ‘remedy’ for Kuhn, but the two should be read together: Comment on Tsou’s ‘Piaget vs. Kuhn on Scientific Progress’. Theory & Psychology, 17(5), 721-732. doi:10.1177/0959354307079306

In arguing that the philosophical works of Jean Piaget could be used as a 'remedy' for the flaws in those of Thomas Kuhn, Tsou overlooked some crucial aspects of the problem: the early history between them, the biological foundation supporting Piaget's method, and a preexisting suggestion regarding the intended future extension of his work. There was also no mention of the existence of a 'lost' manuscript by Kuhn, which supposedly presents the mature articulation of his theory. This comment therefore proposes some 'friendly amendments' to Tsou's exposition, with a view to helping achieve his synthetic vision once the 'lost' work has finally been published. Yet the basic message, in anticipation of this future endeavor, is also exceedingly simple: the implicit direction of Piaget's (and Kuhn's) epistemological constructivism can be characterized as evolutionary-developmental 'progress from,' rather than vitalist-teleological 'progress toward.'

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Invited and other scholarly publications (selection only)

5. Burman, J. T. (2011b, November 7). Jean Piaget: Images of a life and his factory. [Invited research report inspired by the book Bonjour Monsieur Piaget: Images d’une vie – Images of a Life, curated by M. Ratcliff.] History of Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1037/a0025930

If you were ever curious to see the infamous report on the albino sparrow, or the snails (or the pipe!), they’re all featured in a wonderful new book: Bonjour Monsieur Piaget: Images d’une vie – Images of a Life (Ratcliff, 2010). Authorized and supported by Jean Piaget’s son and literary executor, Laurent, this volume presents a view of its subject the equal of which I have never seen. It is simply wonderful. It also suggests hints of an emerging historical method, examining “psychological factories,” which I will discuss in detail in the second half of this essay.

4. Burman, J. T. (2011a). The Zeroeth Piaget. [Invited review of the book Jean Piaget and Neuchâtel: The Learner and the Scholar, edited by A.-N. Perret-Clermont and J.-M. Barrelet.] Theory & Psychology, 21(1), 130-133. doi:10.1177/0959354310361407

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the most eminent psychologists of the twentieth century (Haggbloom et al., 2002). His studies provided the basis of modern developmental psychology. But the popularization of those studies led to several misunderstandings (Lourenço & Machado, 1996). This book helps to counter that trend by digging deeper; it addresses some of the misunderstandings by excavating his origins. It shows that Piaget was not a solitary genius---he had a family, a childhood, and was trained to think and act in specific ways that fit the context of his time. In other words, this book examines the context in which the young learner, Jean, developed into the famous scholar: “Piaget” (cf. Vidal, 1994).

3. Burman, J. T. (2009b). Convergent plurality or basic incommensurability? (Toward the formalizing of Goertzen’s solution to the ‘crisis’ in psychology). History and Philosophy of Psychology Bulletin, 20(1), 23-28.

Goertzen’s summaries of the literature on the “crisis of fragmentation” in Psychology have the potential to turn a century-long debate into a genuine puzzle for scientific investigation. However, even his most recent discussions have failed to provide any concrete tools to enable this. Instead, he offers a metaphor – “concinnity” (which he borrows from Giorgi but never adequately defines) – and celebrates liberal values as a way to finally resolve the problem. This is unconvincing; more rhetoric. But at least he points the way. And if it’s a way worth following, the discussion will need to be formalized. This process is begun here: first by defining the fundamental barrier (incommensurability), then by unpacking the metaphor (harmony as plurality), and finally by connecting the rhetoric to some models that could be used to produce testable hypotheses. [Get the PDF here.]

2. Hobbs, S. & Burman, J. T. (2009a). Looking Back: Is the ‘cognitive revolution’ a myth? [Invited debate, expanding on a solo-authored blog posting at Advances in the History of Psychology.] The Psychologist, 22(9), 812-815.

There is a distinguished and eminently worthy tradition in the history of psychology of correcting falsehoods, exaggerations, and myths. Indeed, in my own area, one of the most important examples of this ‘debunking’ rebuts the 10 errors most commonly found in readings of Jean Piaget’s theory of developmental stages (Lourenço & Machado, 1996). But in making claims of ‘correction’ it is one thing to point to a mistranslation or a neglected text. It is quite another to argue the inexistence of a complex social movement. [Get the PDF here.]

1. Burman, J. T. (2006). [Review of the book Consciousness & Emotion, vol. 1: Agency, conscious choice, and selective perception.] Journal of Consciousness Studies, 13(12), 115-119.

In developmental biology, it has long been clear that phenotype is underdetermined by genotype. To address the gap, famed geneticist Conrad Waddington (1905–1975) proposed that an ‘epigenetic landscape’ mediates the influences of genes on growth (Waddington, 1957). Although the idea was slow to catch on, his proposal is now widely accepted, with pride of place in the emerging evolutionary subfield known colloquially as ‘evo-devo.’ Yet equivalent notions have been slower to emerge in psychology. A new concept (enactivism), and the book series in which it has found a home (Consciousness and Emotion), should help to change this. [Get the PDF here.]

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Published translations

2. Ducret, J.-J. & Schachner, W. (2011, June). Jean Piaget Foundation for research in psychology and epistemology: Newsletter #5 (J. T. Burman, Trans.). Geneva, Switzerland: Fondation Jean Piaget. (Original work published May 2011.)

The Jean Piaget Foundation launched its website in April 2007: www.fondationjeanpiaget.ch. Our primary purpose in creating it was to facilitate the dissemination of Piaget’s work, since many of his writings on psychology and genetic epistemology had become difficult to find. Now, after four years, it’s clear that we have achieved our goal. [Get the PDF here.]

1. Excerpts from “La psychologie de l’intelligence [The psychology of intelligence]” (Claparède, 1917) and “La conscience de la ressemblance et de la différence chez l’enfant [The child’s awareness of similarity and difference]” (Claparède, 1918). Published as appendices to Burman, 2008.

What is the role, or function, of “intelligence” in the life of an individual? To this question there is but one possible answer: it is an adaptive tool that comes into play when other such instruments—instinct and habits—fail. “Intelligence” intervenes, therefore, when the individual finds himself in a situation that avails itself neither of his instinct, nor of his acquired reflexes. (For example, “intelligence” is not needed to shy away from a bright light, nor is it required to find one’s way home.) “Intelligence,” on this account, addresses a kind of need. From the biological point of view, it is therefore on the same footing as all other activities, which also each tend to be evoked by their own particular kinds of need. In this case, however, the relevant stimulus is the need for adaptation, which emerges when an individual is maladapted to the ambient conditions.

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Interviews and Media Coverage

Green, C. D. (Producer) & Bazar, J. (Director). (2012, September). Asylums and the history of madness in the 19th century. History of Psychology Laboratory (Hoopla!) podcast. Available through iTunes.

The pilot episode builds on Jennifer Bazar's years of research on 19th century asylums. It features interviews with Andrew Scull, David Wright, Gerald Grob, and Elizabeth Lunbeck. Discussants are Christopher Green, Jennifer Bazar, Jacy Young, and Jeremy Burman.

APA's Electronic Resources Advisory Committee. (2011, March). PsycINFO News, 30(1), 7-10.

The PsycINFO Electronic Resources Advisory Committee is an advisory subcommittee of the Publications and Communications Board. Its mission is to guide us in activities related to the development and dissemination of communications products in electronic form. The committee proposes policies, engages in long-term planning, and proposes research and development projects for consideration by the Publications and Communications Board.

Society for the History of Psychology (SHP) at APA. (2010, May). History of Psychology, 13(2), 213.

A workshop on teaching, doing, writing, and publishing the history of psychology organized by Jeremy Burman and Kelli Vaughn-Blount features presentations by Wade Pickren, Alexandra Rutherford, Barney Beins, Gary van den Bos, and David Baker.

DeAngelis, T. (2010, January). Moving up, the smart way. GradPsych, 8(1), 20-23.

Getting into the right program can set you on the right career path for life, say those who've done it. After following a circuitous path from bachelor's to master's at two institutions and checking out a few different program areas, Burman is now happily ensconced at a York University psychology doctoral program, where he is using historical texts to inform psychological research. "There are so many different programs, so many professors, so many different areas of research, and so many different approaches, that if you don't feel like you're in a place that fits, you can probably find it elsewhere," he says. "You want to be in a program where you stay up late and forget to go to sleep because you're so excited about what you're doing."

Chu, S. (2001, March 8). Peer-to-Peer gets down to business: High-tech companies reap revenue from P2P technology by helping customers share computer resources across networks. Globe & Mail, p. T3.

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Academia.edu profile

Google Scholar profile

Last Updated: May 14, 2012