Social constructionism or social constructivism is a
sociological theory of
knowledge that considers how social phenomena develop in particular social contexts. Within constructionist thought, a
social construction (social construct) is a concept or practice which may appear to be natural and obvious to those who accept it, but in reality is an invention or
artifact of a particular culture or society. Social constructs are generally understood to be the by-products (often unintended or unconscious) of countless human choices rather than laws resulting from divine will or nature. This is not usually taken to imply a radical anti-
determinism, however. Social constructionism is usually opposed to
essentialism, which defines specific phenomena instead in terms of
transhistorical essences independent of conscious beings that determine the categorical structure of reality.
See more at Wikipedia.org...
Some postmodern authors (
Gergen ,
Shotter ,
Anderson and
Goolishian ) think it is important to distinguish social constructionism from constructivism. Others do not. If the distinction is maintained, social constructionism (or simply "constructionism") is seen to be the study of the social processes (or language processes) we use to create and maintain our beliefs in ordinary concepts such as mental illness, marriage, the difference between men and women.
Free Download Now!
