Since the 1980s, the study of social sciences has seen a rise of several approaches, one of which is social constructionism.
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Description
What
is Social constructionism?
Since the 1980s, the study of social sciences has seen a rise of several approaches, one of which is social constructionism.
Social constructionism cannot be defined with one single description; it is rather several characteristics that create a ‘family resemblance.’
What they have in common is the following four key assumptions:
Assumption 1:
Social constructionism emphasises the importance of looking at the things around us in a critical way, even though we have always taken them for granted. It challenges the idea that knowledge is based on objective observations of the world, and thus that what exists is what we perceive to exist. It believes that what is perceived as the truth depends on our interpretation and view of the world; including different discourses and social contexts. It also goes against the idea that everything must divided and placed into categories; such as people being male or female, and reveals many grey, questionable areas.
