Social Constructionism

The Flexible and the Pliant: Disturbed Organisms of Soviet Modernity

by Serguei Alex. Oushakine (Сергей Ушакин)

in Cultural Anthropology. Vol. 19, No. 3 (2004): 392–428.

Bridging the Gap Between Personal and Social Construction.

by Jelena Pavlovic

Pavlovic, Ј. (2010). Bridging the Gap Between Personal and Social Construction. In H. Soini.E-L Kronqvist & Guenther Huber (Eds.) Epistemology for Qualitative Research (119-132). Qualitative Psychology Nexus. Schwangau: Ingebor Huber Verlag.

In recent decades there has been an expansion of social constructionist methodologies, among which discourse analysis... more In recent decades there has been an expansion of social constructionist methodologies, among which discourse analysis plays one of the most prominent roles. In 1950s George Kelly proposed his theory of personal construction (PCP), that later inspired researchers to develop various qualitative techniques.
Laddering, pyramiding and qualitative grids and are only some examples of the personal construct theory’s methodological repertoire. Both personal construct theory and social constructionism share participative epistemology and relational view of human nature and the research process. However, PCP
is often contrasted to social constructionism as being an individualistic enterprise. This divide has profound implications for further integration of the two theoretical perspectives. In this paper I propose a possible avenue for collaboration between discourse analysis and PCP techniques. Starting from the
viewpoint that both of these tools represent methodological vehicles for search into meaning, I elaborate on some of the ways of incorporating PCP techniques into the discourse analytic interviews. I exemplify this methodological innovation by a recent research I conducted in Serbian highschools. Using
a focus group format I elicitated teachers’ and pupils’ notions about the nature of knowledge and later interpreted this material as part of a discourse analytic study.

Backward mapping and the big idea: Employing social constructionist theory in curriculum planning

by Tony Loughland

The Fourth Estate in the USA and UK: Discourses of truth and power

by Jesse Hearns-Branaman

unpublished PhD thesis

This thesis examines the ways in which political journalists in the USA and UK talk about issues of truth and power as... more This thesis examines the ways in which political journalists in the USA and UK talk about issues of truth and power as it relates to journalism’s role as the Fourth Estate. The theoretical basis comes from a critique of the two major structures underpinning the Fourth Estate, that of epistemology (the study of truth) and ideology (broadly, the study of power and ideas). This involves unpacking and critically examining the ability of news media to convey ‘true’ information and the ideological formations in which the news media production practice is situated. The epistemological theories of Realism, Pragmatism, Antirealism and Hyperrealism will first be elucidated in an in-depth theoretical discussion, focusing on the contributions of Baudrillard. Four major theories of ideology, that of personal ideological bias, chaos, control, and ideology as fetishistic disavowal will be examined, this time focusing on the work of Žižek.
This theoretical discussion is complimented by an analysis of interview questions relating to epistemological concerns and to ideology. The empirical data consists of twenty interviews conducted with political correspondents in the USA and UK. A version of critical discourse analysis is used to examine the ways in which journalists talk about the issues raised by the questions, what is termed their ‘discursive strategies.’ The categories for analysis are grounded in the discursive strategies used by the journalists themselves, examined to elaborate not simply the explicit content, but the deeper implicit meanings inherent in the way they answer.
This provided both an original theoretical discussion and an original set of empirically-derived data. It also allows us to further understand the role of journalism as the Fourth Estate, the types of ‘truth’ it brings to us, the types of ideologies that underpin the news production process via news media professionals, and how the system is maintained despite its inherent contradictions.

Ideological_Dilemmas-_Negotiating_Interpretative_Repertoires_in_Digital_Economy_Britain

by Andrew Chatora

Paper presented at the Media, Communication & Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA) Conference held at Bedfordshire University - January 2012.

This paper explores the ways in which cross-generational consumers of music construct their identities and situate... more This paper explores the ways in which cross-generational consumers of music construct their identities and situate their music downloading and file sharing practices, in what has become a mundane activity. A social psychological form of discourse analysis: ideological dilemmas of everyday thinking, (Billig et al 1988) is used to investigate the interpretative repertoires (Potter & Wetherell, 1987) consumers drew on as they construct their identities in justifying an embedded practice. Throughout data collection, consumers demonstrated; inconsistent, contradictory and shifting interpretative repertoires in their speech, through nuanced, situated statements, which presents the basis for analysis in this paper. Equally, it is pertinent to analyse how intergenerational consumers reconcile with inconsistencies between interpretative repertoires in order to manage ideological dilemmas. The study draws on focus groups, an online survey and individual interviews with consumers from different generations, as it seeks to address consumers’ uses of digital technologies and the potential threat of the 2010 Digital Economy Act. Theoretical ideas located in social constructionisim, discourse and social psychology, postulated by Vivien Burr (2003) and Potter & Wetherell’ (1987) inform this study, which seeks to investigate how sense can be made from social behaviour. The study will determine whether the age factor does make a difference in terms of music downloading and illegal file sharing, and concludes by suggesting how the music industries and the state needs to respond in the face of technology induced changes.

Subverting psychology and prioritizing politics: Reflections on 'The Social Construction of Lesbianism' from an irritated youth

by Adrian Coyle

A commentary on Celia Kitzinger's 1987 book, 'The Social Construction of Lesbianism', published in 2004 in Feminism & Psychology, 14, 507-510. Please contact me if you would like a complete copy of the commentary but experience difficulties in locating it.

Review: Gossip and the Everyday Production of Politics. Niko Besnier.

by Alan Jones

Appears in Pacific Affairs 84(4), December 2011.

Besnier sets out to counter a traditional focus in anthropology on overt political action in meetings, courts,... more Besnier sets out to counter a traditional focus in anthropology on overt political action in meetings, courts, parliamentary debates, etc., by analysing the informal speech events and conversational mechanisms through which individuals on Nukulaelae, a tiny coral atoll, manipulate their affairs. The notion of gossip, initially defined as a morally laden and negatively evaluative verbal exchange on the subject of some absent third party (p. 13), takes on many additional layers of meaning over the course of this richly contextualised study.

En defensa del relativismo

by Baltasar Fernández-Ramírez

en prensa (in press)

Este texto tiene su origen en la lectura de una breve recensión, escrita por el profesor John Searle (2011), acerca... more Este texto tiene su origen en la lectura de una breve recensión, escrita por el profesor John Searle (2011), acerca del libro de Paul Boghossian, “El miedo al conocimiento” (Madrid, Alianza, 2009). Si este último se esfuerza en su libro por desmontar las tesis relativistas, Searle traza apenas unas pinceladas en muy pocas páginas mostrando su apoyo a los argumentos de Boghossian y reforzando con nuevos argumentos aquellos aspectos en que lo encuentra deficitario. Mi lectura inicial de Searle se llenó rápidamente de signos de admiración, comentarios al margen y tachaduras, y me animó, no sé si en buena hora, a escribir esta extensa respuesta. Siguiendo el orden del texto inicial, iré tratando de argumentar en contra de sus afirmaciones y poniendo en evidencia algunos supuestos que en su discurso son necesarios, pero que no podemos aceptar desde posiciones construccionistas. La disputa se resolverá necesariamente en tablas.

Venzuelan and Russian Trade Relations

by Robert Silva

I already presented this at the ISA West Conference in L.A, 2010 got my APD because of it

It is realist analysis of Russian and Venezuelan trade, Russian no foul. It is realist analysis of Russian and Venezuelan trade, Russian no foul.

On essences in constructivist psychology

by Jonathan Raskin

Published in the Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, Vol 31(4), Nov 2011, 223-239. doi: 10.1037/a0025006

The notion of essence in psychology is examined from a constructivist viewpoint. The constructivist position is... more The notion of essence in psychology is examined from a constructivist viewpoint. The constructivist position is summarized and differentiated from social constructionism, after which constructs are distinguished from concepts in order to position ontology and epistemology as modes of construing. After situating constructivism in relation to philosophical approaches to essences, the distinction between essences and kinds is examined and the presumed constructivist critique of essences in psychology outlined. It is argued that criticizing constructivism as an “anything goes” form of anti-realism fails to grasp how constructivist psychology, by emphasizing structure and viability, does indeed place limits on the constructions people may hold. In applying a constructivist understanding of essences in general to those fundamental to human psychology, people can be seen as having three essential psychological qualities: they are closed systems, active meaning-makers, and irreducibly social beings. Yet a constructivist view also maintains that these psychological essences only hold while operating within and committed to a constructivist perspective. In other words, what counts as an essence always depends on one’s assumptions, or how one construes events. Finally, a personal construct theory model of essentialist and nonessentialist construing is introduced based on the assumption that everyone construes in both essentialist and nonessentialist ways at different times because doing so is pragmatically viable.

Social Constructionism as Theory: Some Ethnomethodologically Informed Considerations

by thomas conroy

The Web of Identity: Selfhood and Belonging in Online Learning Networks

by Marguerite Koole

Make All Learning an Empowering Experience

by David Cook

Credentialism in the United States has further entrenched social stratification. There is already solution to make... more Credentialism in the United States has further entrenched social stratification. There is already solution to make education an empowering social institution again. Credit by examination, life experience evaluation and uniform academic credit banking needs to be an option for any part or all of a bachelor’s degree.

Bowes-Catton, H. (2007) ‘Resisting the binary: Discourses of identity and diversity in bisexual politics 1988-1996’ Lesbian and Gay Psychology Review vol 8, no1 (April 2007).

by Helen Bowes-Catton

In this article, post-structural discourse analysis is used to examine discourses of identity in the political... more In this article, post-structural discourse analysis is used to examine discourses of identity in the political literature of the UK bisexual movement during the period 1988-1996. Two competing discursive strategies are identified, both of which draw on academic discourses of essentialism and constructionism to articulate resistance to dominant binary categories of sexuality. The first of these strategies seeks to establish bisexuality as essential and authentic, dismissing homosexuality and heterosexuality as socially constructed. The second presents bisexuality as unifying and liberating, compared to divisive and restrictive binary categories.

Una teoría social por adición de elementos. Divertimento numérico

by Baltasar Fernández-Ramírez

Este texto se presenta como una teoría social que aprovecha dos fuentes de metáforas: la teoría simbolista de los... more Este texto se presenta como una teoría social que aprovecha dos fuentes de metáforas: la teoría simbolista de los números y una visión construccionista de la vida en sociedad. Sin embargo, sólo es un entretenimiento que fantasea con la interacción entre distintas instituciones -con la práctica social como elemento constituyente clave-, componiendo un entramado cada vez más complejo, desde el individuo a la teoría del Estado, y de ahí a la Historia; desde la capacidad reflexiva para observarnos en la interacción diaria hasta la reflexión sobre la Humanidad como un ciclo de revoluciones y sistemas. El texto comienza con una digresión sobre el concepto del número como cualidad. He utilizado algunas ideas comunes en la literatura de nuestras ciencias sociales, con la mera intención de ilustrar el significado y las posibilidades de cada uno de los estadios y elementos comentados. En puridad, el texto no responde a ningún planteamiento teórico coherente y exhaustivo, ni lo pretende. No es un modelo, ni una descripción, ni una reflexión sobre la Historia. Como queda dicho en el título, sólo es un divertimento, un juego, poesía sociológica. La fuerza de las ideas no está en su valor para la descripción, siempre engañosa, sino en su potencia para sugerir, para hacer que otros piensen y se aventuren por discursos diferentes a los convencionales. Sólo está escrito para aquellos dispuestos a este ejercicio de sugestión teórica. Absténganse los demás de leerlo