Social Constructionism/ Constructivism

An Extended Presentation of the Inquiry on the Expected Synergy between the Quatro-Construct Reducing Trauma, Enhancing Empathy, Guiding Epigenetics, …

by Andrés Ginestet

The colonial construction of what?

by Jakob De Roover

Co-authored with Sarah Claerhout, published in Rethinking Religion in India: The Colonial Construction of Hinduism (Routledge, 2010).

This chapter raises three fundamental questions to clear the conceptual ground required for theory formation on the... more This chapter raises three fundamental questions to clear the conceptual ground required for theory formation on the construction of Hinduism. First, the authors analyze the question ‘Is religion a construct?’ The claim that religion is only a conceptual tool of the scholar, which does not refer to any empirical reality, they argue, fails to make sense in the absence of a theory of religion. However, this does not imply it is nonsensical to speak of the construction of Hinduism. ‘Is Hinduism a construct?’ is answered in the positive but qualified in a limited empirical sense. Third, the authors raise the question as to ‘What is constructed in the process of construction?’ On one hand, one could argue, as they do, that Hinduism has been created as a conceptual unit in certain descriptions of India. These descriptions have had impact upon Indian society, but this does not entail that Hindu religion exists in India today. On the other hand, one could suggest that Hinduism has come into being as an object also, a new religion that materialized on the subcontinent.

Social Constructionism as Ontology: Exposition and Example

by john cromby

This paper contends that anti-realist claims regarding the
‘nature’ of social constructionism and the world it... more This paper contends that anti-realist claims regarding the
‘nature’ of social constructionism and the world it describes are erroneous.Specifically, we argue that claims regarding the impossibility of referentiality and objectivity—often seen as defining characteristics of constructionism—mistake both the nature of the subject matter at hand and the consequences that follow from theoretical critiques of naıve objectivism
and realism. Drawing upon the (critical) realist philosophy of science,we illustrate, through the use of a particular case study, that the version of constructionism proposed here is more compelling, credible and has greater utility than others that have been offered.

Multiculturalism and reification of culture: A constructivist-postmodern view

by Marco Gemignani

Los anclajes de la identidad personal The anchoring of personal identity

by Juan Carlos Revilla

Many postmodern authors have claimed the dissolution of identity due to the multiplicity of personal relationships, to... more Many postmodern authors have claimed the dissolution of identity due to the multiplicity of personal relationships, to the variety of experiences or to the huge social changes in process.
Nonetheless, I argue that, in spite of not being possible to sustain an essentialist conception of the subject, there are many elements that preclude an absolute dissolution of identity, anchoring the subject to a certain personal identity, but in a problematic, conflictive, and changing way.
Furthermore, the dissolution of identity would not necessarily be beneficial for subjects nor groups, as long as the demand of interaction rights comes close to the maintaining of acknowledgeable identities. The problem would rather be the difficulty to accede to valuable identities in the prevailing life conditions, making difficult to produce positive self-discourses, and thus generalizing processes of identity “fragilization”.

Tsilipakos - 2012 - Poverty of Ontological Reasoning

by Leonidas Tsilipakos

Science and Transcendence: Westphal, Derrida, and Responsibility

by Nathan Kowalsky

published in 'Zygon:  Journal of Religion and Science', March 2012.

A full copy of the paper is available from the author upon request.

On the naive reading, “radical social constructivism” would be the result of “deconstructing” science. Science would... more On the naive reading, “radical social constructivism” would be the result of “deconstructing” science. Science would simply be a contingent construction in accordance with social determinants. However, postmodernism does not necessarily abandon fidelity to the objects of thought. Merold Westphal's Derridean philosophy of religion emphasizes that even theology need not eliminate the transcendence of the divine other. By drawing an analogy between natural and supernatural transcendence, I argue that science is similarly called to responsibility in the encounter with that which lies outside its horizon of expectation. Science's rational autonomy is overcome by the heteronomy of realities that precede it. Understanding species as homeostatic property clusters is an example of nonessentialist, postmodern, and scientific realism. Science is still a vehicle for encountering natural alterity, thus decentering the relativism thought to characterize postmodernism. However, natural science must not attempt to place the whole of being at human disposal if it is to fulfill the potential of Westphal's philosophy of religion.

Stockholm Syndrome as Vernacular Resource

by Tony Christensen

Forthcoming in "The Sociological Quarterly." Co-authored with Michael Adorjan, Benjamin Kelly and Dorothy Pawluch.

First coined in 1973 to describe a pathological response on the part of individuals involved in kidnapping or... more First coined in 1973 to describe a pathological response on the part of individuals involved in kidnapping or hostage-taking situations, the label “Stockholm syndrome” has since been used in a much broader range of contexts including with reference to wife battering and human trafficking, and in debates about gender and race politics as well as international relations. Tracing the domain expansion of Stockholm syndrome since the 1970s, we examine how the label offers claims-makers a device for neutralizing the arguments of those with opposing points of view, and in so doing reinforces collective narratives and “formula stories” of victimization.

The Social Construction of Russia's External Gas Policy

by Jack Sharples

This paper was written in late summer 2010, and was later published as:

Jack. D. Sharples, 2011. The Social Construction of Russia’s External Gas Policy. In: Belokurova. E., ed, 2011. European Politics and Society: Studies by Young Scholars (Vol. 3). St Petersburg, Svoe Publishing House (pp.93-122)

This paper seeks to contribute to the debate on Russia as supplier of gas to Europe by considering the influence of... more This paper seeks to contribute to the debate on Russia as supplier of gas to Europe by considering the influence of national interests and national identity on Russia’s external gas policy. In doing so, this paper takes the strategic conceptualisation of gas in Russia and the politicised nature of gas in Europe as its starting points. The paper then goes on to argue that Gazprom is not a purely commercial company, but also acts in the interests of the Russian state. This is ensured by the Russian state shareholding in Gazprom, the presence of state figures on Gazprom’s Board of Directors, and Gazprom’s reliance on the Russian state for its monopoly on the export of Russian natural gas. The result of the close relationship between Gazprom and the Russian state is that Gazprom seeks to maximise its commercial revenue, but does so largely within the framework of Russian state energy policy. Most of the time, Gazprom’s pursuit of profit coincides with Russia’s 21st century ‘economic’ and ‘pragmatic’ foreign policy. However, in certain situations the interests of Gazprom and the Russian state diverge. At these times, the Russian state exerts sufficient influence over Gazprom to oblige it to act according to the political interests of the Russian state, rather than its own commercial interests. Therefore, if we wish to understand the policies of Gazprom beyond the short-term profit motive, we need to understand the motivations behind Russian state energy policy. In order to do this, we must examine Russian state external gas policy in light of Russia’s national interests.

You Are Not Your Brain: Against "Teaching to the Brain"

by Gregory Nixon

Published in the *International Handbook of Academic Research and Teaching: Proceedings of Intellectbase International Consortium*, vol 22, Spring 2012, San Antonio, TX, USA, 298-306.

Since educators are always looking for ways to improve their practice, and since empirical science is now accepted in... more Since educators are always looking for ways to improve their practice, and since empirical science is now accepted in our worldview as the final arbiter of truth, it is no surprise they have been lured toward cognitive neuroscience in hopes that discovering how the brain learns will provide a nutshell explanation for student learning in general. I argue that identifying the person with the brain is scientism (not science), that the brain is not the person, and that it is the person who learns. In fact the brain only responds to the learning of embodied experience within the extra-neural network of intersubjective communications. Learning is a dynamic, cultural activity, not a neural program. Brain-based learning is unnecessary for educators and may be dangerous in that a culturally narrow ontology is taken for granted, thus restricting our creativity and imagination, and narrowing the human community.

Presumed Guilty: Constructing Deviance and Deviants through Techniques of Neutralization

by Tony Christensen

Published in the journal "Deviant Behavior." Vol 31, Issue 6. 2010.

Techniques of neutralization have become one of the most ubiquitous concepts in the study of deviance. This article... more Techniques of neutralization have become one of the most ubiquitous concepts in the study of deviance. This article examines the way in which analysts who use neutralization theory construct the nature of deviance and those who engage in it. The author argues that by invoking the concept of neutralizations, analysts endorse the deviant label being applied to those they study and engage in the practice of “motive mongering.” In many cases, assumptions about the behavior and disposition of those who engage in deviant behavior have been accepted without empirical justification. The implications of this practice for objectivist and subjectivist approaches to defining deviance are examined.

sociology of the international

by Oliver Kessler

logic intersubjectivity and meaning

by Oliver Kessler

hayek constructivism and crisis

by Oliver Kessler

Sociocultural and constructivist theories of learning: Ontology, not just epistemology

by Martin Packer

Packer, M. J., & Goicoechea, J. (2000). Sociocultural and constructivist theories of learning: Ontology, not just epistemology. Educational Psychologist, 35(4), 227-241.

Embedded Neo-Mercantilism in the Post-Bretton Woods Economy: Balance of Payments Adjustment from Petrodollars to Sinodollars

by David Spiro

Presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association
1-4 April 2012

For the past decade policy-makers, legislators from both side of the aisle, academic observers, and business people... more For the past decade policy-makers, legislators from both side of the aisle, academic observers, and business people have made contradictory statements regarding the US and Chinese balance of payments.  Those in the United States have called Chinese practices unfair, because the Chinese government is “artificially” undervaluing its currency vis a vis the US dollar, and vis a vis the rest of the world.  This makes Chinese exports cheaper, and the claim in the US seems to be that US exports and jobs have suffered as a result.

At the same time, the United States has funded its budget deficit by selling treasury obligations to the Chinese government.  The US economy is a net borrower from foreigners, and this means that we must absorb savings from abroad.  At the same time that a broad group in the United States calls for China to bring its trade account into balance, the US depends upon an imbalance in the Chinese capital account to fund US deficits.  Contrary to the claims of US government officials and congressmen, it is in the short-term interest of both the United States and China for the US to have a trade deficit with China that is funded by Chinese purchases of government debt.

I will argue that the contradictory and hypocritical policy toward China is explained by a new “social purpose” that characterizes both US foreign economic policy and to some extent the content of international economic relations; and following John Ruggie’s seminal work, I label this social purpose embedded neo-mercantilism.  The United States would like to see international openness in international trade and in the international monetary system, so long as that means it is competitive in international markets and so long as it is able to fund the twin deficits in international capital markets.  Whereas before the United States  served as a legitimate authority to maintain a system of embedded liberalism, in the post-Bretton Woods system it has competed with international institutions and relied upon international capital markets to continue its exorbitant privilege of funding foreign wars with the savings of foreigners.

In economic terms it is contradictory to call for China to up-value its currency, balance its trade account, and amass dollar reserves in the form of US government obligations.  But the social purpose of embedded liberalism—striving for international openness while maintaining control over the domestic economy—might also be seen as contradictory in purely economic terms.  From the viewpoint of embedded neo-mercantilism, the contradiction between the policies of trade competitiveness and funding twin deficits is consistent.

“In Search of Sexual Fingerprints: Exploring the Sociological Construction of Sexual Selves.”

by Rebecca Plante

In The Sexual Self: The Construction of Sexual Scripts, edited by Michael S. Kimmel. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2007.

Psicología del objeto

by Baltasar Fernández-Ramírez

Draft

El construccionismo es una síntesis de orden psicosocial que lleva a conclusiones que niegan la existencia de la... more El construccionismo es una síntesis de orden psicosocial que lleva a conclusiones que niegan la existencia de la realidad tal como se concibe tradicionalmente. No es una consecuencia necesaria, pero tampoco es eludible. Si no queremos pensar en un mundo poblado por fantasmas que se resuelven únicamente en las interioridades del sujeto, necesitamos elaborar una teoría del objeto que sea capaz de incluir y al mismo tiempo de trascender las bases conceptuales del propio construccionismo. La discusión sobre el objeto es una ontología. Este texto, sin embargo, es una reflexión sobre las personas, o más bien, sobre las implicaciones del construccionismo para caracterizar el mundo de los objetos en el que las personas enmarcan su vida. Dejaré a un lado las alternativas que tienen que ver con una filosofía del lenguaje, es decir, argumentos provenientes de las ciencias del discurso, si bien es imposible sustraernos a ellas por completo, puesto que el construccionismo recibe un importante aporte de ideas desde este origen. El resultado final de mi reflexión es débil, lo reconozco, aunque prefiero considerarlo un punto de partida apto para defender un elogio de la diferencia y para matizar los riesgos solipsistas implícitos en la argumentación construccionista menos avisada.

Construccionismo. Ontología. Objetos. Personas. Nihilismo.

Cyborg Stem Cells in Public: Deconstructing and Taking Responsibility for Categorizations

by Nicola Marks

New Genetics and Society, (advanced online publication), due end 2012

“Cyborg” entities do not easily fit into pre-existing categories and can therefore be useful in deconstructing these... more “Cyborg” entities do not easily fit into pre-existing categories and can therefore be useful in deconstructing these categories and showing their contingency and political power. In this paper, some cyborg stem cells are examined. They were discussed in Australian public debates as well as during interviews with scientists. Multiple ways of making sense of them are possible, but one became dominant, was inscribed in Australian parliamentary documents and may now seem to be a simple reflection of nature. By showing other possible categorizations and highlighting the contingency and ambiguity of concepts such as “embryo”, or “fetus”, the established definition of these cells is contested. In particular, the way it can displace conversations about women’s bodies and the use in research of material from terminations is highlighted. Alternative stem cell categorizations are put forward; these are not “innocent” either, but may offer fruitful ways of talking about this area of technoscience in public.

Constraint and Freedom: The Social Origin of Personal Constructs (1978)

by Harry Procter

Co-authored with Glenys Parry. Published in F.Fransella (1978) Personal Construct Psychology 1977. London: Academic Press.
Critique of Kelly's Personal Construct Theory as being too individualistic and not taking enough account of social and linguistic sources of meaning construction