Reconsidering Social Constructionism

Reconsidering Social Constructionism PDF Author: Gale Miller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351494449
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
With the impact of social interactionist and ethnographic methodology twenty-five years ago, the research agenda in social problems began to shift its focus, giving rise to the Social Constructionism movement. The present volume and the related shorter text, Constructionist Controversies, review the substantial contributions made by social constructionist theorists over that period, as well as recent debates about the future of the perspective. These contributions redefine the purpose and central questions of social problems theory and articulate a research program for analyzing social problems as social constructions. A generation of theorists has been trained in the constructionist perspective and has extended it through numerous analyses of diverse aspects of contemporary social life.The debates in this volume pose fundamental questions about the major assumptions of the perspective, the ways in which it is practiced, and the purposes of social problems theory. Their point of departure is Ibarra and Kitsuse's essay, cutting new theoretical ground in calling for ""investigating vernacular resources, especially rhetorical forms, in the social problems process.""Contributors are forceful proponents both within and outside of the social constructionist community, who take a broad array of positions on the current state of social problems theory and on the rhetorical forms that need exploring. They also lay down the general lines for diverse and often competing programs for the future development of the constructionist agenda.

Reconsidering Social Constructionism

Reconsidering Social Constructionism PDF Author: Gale Miller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351494449
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 572

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Book Description
With the impact of social interactionist and ethnographic methodology twenty-five years ago, the research agenda in social problems began to shift its focus, giving rise to the Social Constructionism movement. The present volume and the related shorter text, Constructionist Controversies, review the substantial contributions made by social constructionist theorists over that period, as well as recent debates about the future of the perspective. These contributions redefine the purpose and central questions of social problems theory and articulate a research program for analyzing social problems as social constructions. A generation of theorists has been trained in the constructionist perspective and has extended it through numerous analyses of diverse aspects of contemporary social life.The debates in this volume pose fundamental questions about the major assumptions of the perspective, the ways in which it is practiced, and the purposes of social problems theory. Their point of departure is Ibarra and Kitsuse's essay, cutting new theoretical ground in calling for ""investigating vernacular resources, especially rhetorical forms, in the social problems process.""Contributors are forceful proponents both within and outside of the social constructionist community, who take a broad array of positions on the current state of social problems theory and on the rhetorical forms that need exploring. They also lay down the general lines for diverse and often competing programs for the future development of the constructionist agenda.

Reconsidering Social Constructionism

Reconsidering Social Constructionism PDF Author: James A. Holstein
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9780202308647
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 560

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Book Description
With the impact of social interactionist and ethnographic methodology twenty-five years ago, the research agenda in social problems began to shift its focus, giving rise to the Social Constructionism movement. The present volume and the related shorter text, Constructionist Controversies, review the substantial contributions made by social constructionist theorists over that period, as well as recent debates about the future of the perspective. These contributions redefine the purpose and central questions of social problems theory and articulate a research program for analyzing social problems as social constructions. A generation of theorists has been trained in the constructionist perspective and has extended it through numerous analyses of diverse aspects of contemporary social life. The debates in this volume pose fundamental questions about the major assumptions of the perspective, the ways in which it is practiced, and the purposes of social problems theory. Their point of departure is Ibarra and Kitsuse's essay, cutting new theoretical ground in calling for "investigating vernacular resources, especially rhetorical forms, in the social problems process." Contributors are forceful proponents both within and outside of the social constructionist community, who take a broad array of positions on the current state of social problems theory and on the rhetorical forms that need exploring. They also lay down the general lines for diverse and often competing programs for the future development of the constructionist agenda. James A. Holstein is professor in and chair of the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences, Marquette University. He is the editor of Social Problems. He has published over three-dozen books on topics such as the family, metal health and illness, social problems, the self, and quantitative research methods. Gale Miller is professor of sociology, Marquette University. His recent research focuses on social problems theory, and the social organization and use of language in everyday life, particularly in human service organizations. He has published 24 books and many scholarly articles.

Social Constructionism in Housing Research

Social Constructionism in Housing Research PDF Author: Jim Kemeny
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351899627
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
By stressing the importance of subjectivity and interpretation, social constructionism offers a different conception of reality from the traditional approach to housing policy analysis. This book provides an up-to-date review of the social constructionist perspective and considers its philosophical basis. It discusses how social problems are constructed and, in turn, how this informs policy-making. It is divided into two parts. The first section is theoretical and discusses the variety of conceptual approaches utilised within the constructionist paradigm. The second part provides a number of empirically based case studies from the UK and Australia to illustrate the different methodologies that form the social constructionist corpus. The book also evaluates both the criticisms that have been made against the social constructionist perspective and the strengths and weaknesses of constructionist methods. It therefore contributes to the development of a future research agenda for social constructionist research in housing and urban policy.

Challenges and Choices

Challenges and Choices PDF Author: James A. Holstein
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9780202364650
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
The social constructionist perspective has revolutionized the way that social scientists investigate social problems. Constructing Social Problems (Spector and Kitsuse [1977] 2001) offered the guiding statement of the approach, which both transformed and revitalized the sociology of social problems, propelling it into a quarter century of exciting and innovative empirical research. John Kitsuse and Malcolm Spector challenged conventional approaches to the field; they insisted on treating social problems as social constructions--as the products of claims-making and constitutive definitional processes. The purpose of this book is to highlight contemporary challenges to the social constructionist perspective on social problems. In 1993, two collections of essays, Reconsidering Social Constructionism: Debates in Social Problems Theory (Holstein and Miller 1993) and Constructionist Controversies: Issues in Social Problems Theory (Miller and Holstein 1993), brought a wide variety of constructionist challenges into focus. Challenges and Choices attempts to distill these debates, and offers some compelling suggestions for how challenges may be met and where constructionist studies might proceed in the future. While each of the essays in this volume deeply appreciates the constructionist approach, each of them points to issues and choices that social constructionists must confront if the perspective is to continue to be a vital part of ongoing debates on social problems. The essays critique previous constructionist formulations; make suggestions for advancing, expanding, or diversifying the constructionist agenda; and challenge the perspective to move in new directions. They remind us that social constructionism is an ongoing, not a finished, product, and the essays point to some of the choices available to social constructionists in moving their projects into new, even uncharted, territories. James A. Holstein and Gale Miller are professors in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University.

Information Seeking Behavior and Technology Adoption: Theories and Trends

Information Seeking Behavior and Technology Adoption: Theories and Trends PDF Author: Al-Suqri, Mohammed Nasser
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1466681578
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
With the increasingly complex and ubiquitous data available through modern technology, digital information is being utilized daily by academics and professionals of all disciplines and career paths. Information Seeking Behavior and Technology Adoption: Theories and Trends brings together the many theories and meta-theories that make information science relevant across different disciplines. Highlighting theories that had their base in the early days of text-based information and expanding to the digitization of the Internet, this book is an essential reference source for those involved in the education and training of the next-generation of information science professionals, as well as those who are currently working on the design and development of our current information products, systems, and services.

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 Constructionisms

Social Constructionisms PDF Author: Titus Hjelm
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1137413964
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Social constructionism is one of the key ideas in the social sciences, offering different frameworks for understanding the human world. But what does it mean when we say that something is 'socially constructed'? What exactly do we construct in our social interaction? And what actually 'does' the constructing? This dynamic text invites critical reflection on these questions and more, outlining the various ways that social constructionist theory has been utilised in the social sciences. Hjelm introduces the basic assumptions of social constructionism - before examining the differences between various constructionist traditions and perspectives - from Berger and Luckmann's sociology of knowledge, to constructionist approaches in social psychology and discourse analysis. Through a diverse range of case studies on religion, crime, gender and the media, the chapters demonstrate how to apply constructionist ideas in empirical social research. Social Constructionisms is thus an invaluable source for students and scholars across the social sciences.

The Social Construction of Global Corruption

The Social Construction of Global Corruption PDF Author: Elitza Katzarova
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319985698
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
This book offers new ways of thinking about corruption by examining the two distinct ways in which policy approaches and discourse on corruption developed in the UN and the OECD. One of these approaches extrapolated transnational bribery as the main form of corrupt practices and advocated a limited scope offense, while the other approach tackled the broader structure of the global economic system and advocated curbing the increasing power of multinational corporations. Developing nations, in particular Chile, initiated and contributed much to these early debates, but the US-sponsored issue of transnational bribery came to dominate the international agenda. In the process, the ‘corrupt corporation’ was supplanted by the ‘corrupt politician’, the ‘corrupt public official’ and their international counterpart: the ‘corrupt country’. This book sheds light on these processes and the way in which they reconfigured our understanding of the state as an economic actor and the multinational corporation as a political actor.

Images of Issues

Images of Issues PDF Author: Joel Best
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351310275
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
Constructionist theory describes and analyzes social problems as emerging through the efforts of claimsmakers who bring issues to public attention. By typifying a problem and characterizing it as a particular sort, claimsmakers can shape policymaking and public response to the problem. Th is new edition of Images of Issues addresses claimsmaking in the 1990s, featuring such issues as fathers' rights, stalking, sexual abuse by the clergy, hate crimes, multicultural education, factory farming, and concluding with an expanded discussion of the theoretical debate over constructionism.

The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems:

The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems: PDF Author: A. Javier Treviño
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108673287
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 598

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Book Description
The introduction of the Affordable Care Act in the United States, the increasing use of prescription drugs, and the alleged abuse of racial profiling by police are just some of the factors contributing to twenty-first-century social problems. The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems offers a wide-ranging roster of the social problems currently pressing for attention and amelioration. Unlike other works in this area, it also gives great consideration to theoretical and methodological discussions. This Handbook will benefit both undergraduate and graduate students eager to understand the sociology of social problems. It is suitable for classes in social problems, current events, and social theory. Featuring the most current research, the Handbook provides an especially useful resource for sociologists and graduate students conducting research.