Unfolding Social Constructionism

Unfolding Social Constructionism PDF Author: Fiona J. Hibberd
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387229752
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
For more than half of the 20* century, psychologists sought to locate the causes of behaviour in individuals and tended to neglect the possibility of locating the psy chological in the social. In the late 1960s, a reaction to that neglect brought about a "crisis" in social psychology. This "crisis" did not affect all social psychologists; some remained seemingly oblivious to its presence; others dismissed its signifi cance and continued much as before. But, in certain quarters, the psychological was re-conceptualised as the social, and the social was taken to be sui generis. Moreover, the possibility of developing general laws and theories to describe and explain social interaction was rejected on the grounds that, as social beings, our actions vary from occasion to occasion, and are, for many reasons, unrepeatable. There is, so it was thought, an inherent instability in the phenomena of interest. The nomothetic ideal was said to rest on individualistic cause-effect positivism of the kind which (arguably) characterised the natural sciences, but social psychology (so it was said) is an historical inquiry, and its conclusions are necessarily historically relative (Gergen, 1973). Events outside psychology converged to give impetus to the "crisis" within.

Unfolding Social Constructionism

Unfolding Social Constructionism PDF Author: Fiona J. Hibberd
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387229752
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Get Book Here

Book Description
For more than half of the 20* century, psychologists sought to locate the causes of behaviour in individuals and tended to neglect the possibility of locating the psy chological in the social. In the late 1960s, a reaction to that neglect brought about a "crisis" in social psychology. This "crisis" did not affect all social psychologists; some remained seemingly oblivious to its presence; others dismissed its signifi cance and continued much as before. But, in certain quarters, the psychological was re-conceptualised as the social, and the social was taken to be sui generis. Moreover, the possibility of developing general laws and theories to describe and explain social interaction was rejected on the grounds that, as social beings, our actions vary from occasion to occasion, and are, for many reasons, unrepeatable. There is, so it was thought, an inherent instability in the phenomena of interest. The nomothetic ideal was said to rest on individualistic cause-effect positivism of the kind which (arguably) characterised the natural sciences, but social psychology (so it was said) is an historical inquiry, and its conclusions are necessarily historically relative (Gergen, 1973). Events outside psychology converged to give impetus to the "crisis" within.

An Invitation to Social Construction

An Invitation to Social Construction PDF Author: Kenneth J Gergen
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1473927714
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
This new edition of Kenneth J. Gergen’s celebrated text An Invitation to Social Construction is now even more accessible for students, offering a clear and thorough introduction to one of the most significant movements in contemporary social science. The Third Edition includes: updates reflecting the many new developments in theory, research, and practice a more student-friendly, personal writing style three new chapters on education, and therapy and health care, and organizations key insights into how social construction can help support you in your research projects, from start to finish. An Invitation to Social Construction is the must-read text for all social science students, academics and practitioners wishing to learn about social constructionism, along with the forms of inquiry and practice central to its impact.

Studies on the Social Construction of Identity and Authenticity

Studies on the Social Construction of Identity and Authenticity PDF Author: J. Patrick Williams
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 042964812X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
As identity and authenticity discourses increasingly saturate everyday life, so too have these concepts spread across the humanities and social sciences literatures. Many scholars may be interested in identity and authenticity but lack knowledge of paradigmatic or disciplinary approaches to these concepts. This volume offers readers insight into social constructionist approaches to identity and authenticity. It focuses on the processes of identification and authentication, rather than on subjective experiences of selfhood. There are no attempts to settle what authentic identities are. On the contrary, contributors demonstrate that neither identities nor their authenticity have a single or fixed meaning. Chapters provide exemplars of contemporary research on identity and authenticity, with significant diversity among them in terms of the identities, cultural milieu, geographic settings, disciplinary traditions, and methodological approaches considered. Contributors introduce readers to a number of established and emerging identity groups from sites around the world, from yogis and punks to fire dancers and social media influencers. Their conceptual work stretches from the micro-analytic to the ethno-national as authors employ a variety of qualitative methods including ethnographic fieldwork, interviewing, and the collection and analysis of naturally-occurring interactions. Several of the chapters look directly at identification and authentication while others focus on the social and cultural backdrops that structure these practices – what unites them is the adoption of social constructionist sensibilities. This book will appeal to anyone interested in understanding identity and authenticity.

Research and Social Change

Research and Social Change PDF Author: Sheila McNamee
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136463208
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
This book bridges scholarly forms of inquiry and practitioners’ daily activities. It introduces inquiry as a process of relational construction, offering resources to practitioners who want to reflect on how their work generates practical effects. There are hundreds of books on research, but in keeping with social scientific traditions, many emphasize method and neglect broader, overarching assumptions and interests. Further, most are written in ways that speak to those in the academic community and not to a wider audience of professionals and practitioners. The present text lays out relational constructionist premises and explores these in terms of their generative possibilities both for inquiry and social change work. It is applicable for professionals in the fields of social services, education, organizational consulting, community work, public policy, and healthcare. Using accessible language and extensive use of case examples, this book will help reflective practitioners or practice-oriented academics approach inquiry in ways that are coherent and consistent with a relational constructionist orientation. This volume will be useful for undergraduates, graduate students, and practitioners engaged in professional development, with particular use for those scholar-practitioners who want to reflect on and learn from their practice and who want to produce practical results with and for those with whom they are working. It is also aimed at those scholar-practitioners who want to contribute to a wider understanding of how social relations (groups, organizations, communities, etc.) can work effectively.

Sustaining Civil Society

Sustaining Civil Society PDF Author: Philip Oxhorn
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271048948
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
"Devoting particular emphasis to Bolivia, Chile, and Mexico, proposes a theory of civil society to explain the economic and political challenges for continuing democratization in Latin America"--Provided by publisher.

Handbook of Constructionist Research

Handbook of Constructionist Research PDF Author: James A. Holstein
Publisher: Guilford Publications
ISBN: 1462514812
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 834

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Book Description
Constructionism has become one of the most popular research approaches in the social sciences. But until now, little attention has been given to the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of the constructionist stance, and the remarkable diversity within the field. This cutting-edge handbook brings together a dazzling array of scholars to review the foundations of constructionist research, how it is put into practice in multiple disciplines, and where it may be headed in the future. The volume critically examines the analytic frameworks, strategies of inquiry, and methodological choices that together form the mosaic of contemporary constructionism, making it an authoritative reference for anyone interested in conducting research in a constructionist vein.

Social Theory and Language

Social Theory and Language PDF Author: Glyn Williams
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000142736
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
This volume offers a comprehensive treatment of the historical developments underpinning our present understandings of the relationship between language and the social by integrating the study of language with key strands of sociological theory.// The book posits that theory conditions how objects are constructed and in turn the meanings allocated to them and explores the implications for the relationship between language and the social. The volume traces this relationship from its foundations in the work of Enlightenment philosophers, in which sociology and linguistics emerged as coherent disciplines. Taking this work as a point of departure, the book examines the unfolding of the interplay between language and the social across developments in sociological theory in subsequent eras, encompassing such strands as Marxism, functionalism, interactionism, anti-foundationalism, poststructuralism, critical theory, and critical realism. A final chapter turns its eye toward contemporary sociolinguistics and its treatment of different sociological perspectives and future directions for its continued development. // Reflecting on trajectories in sociological theory toward informing our understanding of the relationship between language and the social today, this book will be key reading for students and scholars in sociolinguistics, philosophy of language, and those working in sociology and geography with an interest in language issues.

Therapy as Social Construction

Therapy as Social Construction PDF Author: Sheila McNamee
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780803983038
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
`An interesting collection of the state of the art of social constructionism and therapy, and a major contribution to reflection on therapeutic theory and practice' - Changes `The chapters are interesting as windows into wider debates beyond therapy to those within the human sciences over the organization of meaning and change in culture... the value of this book is that it makes it possible for the reader to step back and think that therapy may mean different things to different communities, that therapy is not the touchstone but only one of many social constructions' - British Psychological Society Counselling Psychology Review This volume explores the excitin

Realism and Psychology

Realism and Psychology PDF Author: Nigel Mackay
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004188878
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 945

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Book Description
This volume is a collection of new, published and revised essays, providing a distinctive, thoroughgoing, realist approach to contemporary psychological theories, concepts, methods, and applications. The essays also offer critical analyses of antirealist trends both in and outside of mainstream psychology.

What's Wrong with Benevolence

What's Wrong with Benevolence PDF Author: Andrew Irvine
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 145962436X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Is benevolence a virtue? In many cases it appears to be so. But when it comes to the ''enlarged benevolence'' of the Enlightenment, David Stove argues that the answer is clearly no. In this insightful, provocative essay, Stove builds a case for the claim that when benevolence is universal, disinterested and external, it regularly leads to the forced redistribution of wealth, which in turn leads to decreased economic incentives, lower rates of productivity, and increased poverty.As Stove points out, there is an air of paradox in saying that benevolence may be a cause of poverty. But there shouldn't be. Good intentions alone are never sufficient to guarantee the success of one's endeavors. Utopian schemes to reorganize the world have regularly ended in failure.Easily the most important example of this phenomenon is twentieth - century communism. As Stove reminds us, the attractiveness of communism - the ''emotional fuel'' of communist revolutionaries for over a hundred years - has always been ''exactly the same as the emotional fuel of every other utopianism: the passionate desire to alleviate or abolish misery.'' Yet communism was such a monumental failure that millions of people today are still suffering its consequences.In this most prescient of essays, Stove warns contemporary readers just how seductive universal political benevolence can be. He also shows how the failure to understand the connection between benevolence and communism has led to many of the greatest social miseries of our age.