Kenneth J. Gergen is a Senior Research Professor in Psychology at Swarthmore College, and the President of the Taos Institute. He is internationally known for his contributions to social constructionist theory, technology and cultural change, the self, aging, education, and relational theory and practices. His major writings include, Realities and Relationships: Soundings in Social Construction, The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life, and Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. His most recent work Beyond the Tyranny of Testing: Relational Evaluation in Education (with Scherto Gill) offers a relational constructionist alternative to the destructive practices of testing and grading in education. Gergen lectures throughout the world, and has received numerous awards for his work, including honorary degrees in both the U.S. and Europe.
This latest book by one the world's leading protagonists in the field will be welcomed not just by psychologists but by students, academics and professionals interested in social constructionism across a wide range of subjects. Social Construction in Context explores the potentials of social constructionist theory when placed in diverse intellectual and practical contexts. It demonstrates the achievements of social constructionism, and what it can now offer various fields of inquiry, both academic, professional and applied, given the proliferation of the theory across the social sciences and humanities. First order issues of concern within the academic world, objectivity, truth, power and ideology, are now being augmented by widespread developments in practice - therapeutic, pedagogical, organizational and political. This book looks closely at these developments and examines both the positive potentials and limitations of social constructionist theory when applied to a variety of domains. It has been written in an accessible and scholarly manner making it suitable for a wide-ranging readership. This book should be of great value to all students and academics interested in social constructionist theory. Particularly, within the fields of psychology, sociology, organizational behavior, communication, cultural studies, and the human sciences. It should also appeal to those the helping professions (i.e. therapists, counselors and social workers).
