- published: 04 Aug 2013
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Social constructionism or the social construction of reality (also social concept) is a theory of knowledge in sociology and communication theory that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality. The theory centers on the notions that human beings rationalize their experience by creating models of the social world and share and reify these models through language.
A social construct or construction concerns the meaning, notion, or connotation placed on an object or event by a society, and adopted by the inhabitants of that society with respect to how they view or deal with the object or event. In that respect, a social construct as an idea would be widely accepted as natural by the society, but may or may not represent a reality shared by those outside the society, and would be an "invention or artifice of that society."
A major focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the construction of their perceived social reality. It involves looking at the ways social phenomena are created, institutionalized, known, and made into tradition by humans.
Social constructionism observes how the interactions of individuals with their society and the world around them gives meaning to otherwise worthless things and creates the reality of the society. Also check out the Khan Academy MCAT test prep section (https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat) for more sociology videos.
A short lecture to illustrate the idea of social construction.
Dr. Dennis Hiebert presents: "What does 'The Social Construction of Reality' Mean?"
"Race as we know it has no deterministic, biological basis; all the same, race is so powerful that it can have life-or-death consequences." Narrated by sociologist Dalton Conley (author of You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking like a Sociologist). Learn more at wwnorton.com/soc
Earon Kavanagh presents a basic overview of social construction, a very misunderstood term. He uses the meta-theory known as "critical relational constructionism" to show how social construction is part of the fabric of our everyday life in multiple contexts. Earon holds a PhD in social sciences from Tilburg University. His specialties are communities of practice, organization development, power relations, therapy, and the social psychologies of organizing.
"I think a good sociologist is the kind of person who looks through keyholes and reads other people's mail," says Peter Berger, who is no stranger to the field. Berger's groundbreaking tome The Social Construction of Reality (1966), co-authored with Thomas Luckmann, cemented his reputation as one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. The book's claim that our idea of reality emerges through social networks or personal interactions completely revolutionized the way sociology is taught and understood. Indeed the book continues to have important implications for our current high-tech society. In this exclusive new interview, Berger discusses the origins of his interest in sociology and how he came to write The Social Construction of Reality, which is now available as an ebo...
Lecture by Professor Dagfinn Føllesdal, Stanford University/University of Oslo, at the 2009 Holberg Prize Symposium. The Symposium was held in honor of Holberg prize 2009 laureate Ian Hacking. Professor Føllesdal studied science and mathematics in Oslo and Göttingen 1950-57, philosophy at Harvard.Ph.D. Harvard 1961, then taught at Harvard and later at Oslo (1967-99) and Stanford. About 30 books written and edited, 200 articles, translated into nineteen languages, 20 articles reprinted in anthologies. Chair of committees and boards appointed by the Norwegian Government, the Norwegian Research Council, UNESCO and other international organizations.
social construction
Dr. Gail Dines at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, December 19th, 2012.
Discourse, Social Representation and Social Construction – Professor Wolfgang Wagner, University of Tartu
Professor Griff and Zaza Ali join UGR Radio to discuss the turmoil in Dominican Republic, Rachel Dolezal, and what defines the term race. http://www.undergroundrailroadnet.com http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mindzmatter
Tough Guise systematically examines the relationship between pop-cultural imagery and the social construction of masculine identities in the U.S. at the dawn of the 21st century.