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In An Invitation to Social Construction, Kenneth Gergen charts the background to the social constructionist movement and outlines the major debates, topics and issues.
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.
Explores the possibilities for the therapeutic process of adopting a social constructionist perspective. Topics covered in this text include the theoretical basis for social constructionist therapy, and various approaches in practice, such as irreverant therapy and the not-knowing therapist.
This reader introduces a number of important viewpoints central to social constructionism and charts the development of social constructionist thought.
Social Constructionism: Sources and Stirrings in Theory and Practice offers an introduction to the different theorists and schools of thought that have contributed to the development of contemporary social constructionist ideas, charting a course through the ideas that underpin the discipline. From the New Science of Vico in the 18th century, through to Marxist writers, ethnomethodologists and Wittgenstein, ideas as to how socio-cultural processes provide the resources that make us human are traced to the present day. Despite constructionists often being criticised as 'relativists', 'activists' and 'anti-establishment' and for making no concrete contributions, their ideas are now being adopted by practically-oriented disciplines such as management consultancy, advertising, therapy, education and nursing. Andy Lock and Tom Strong aim to provoke a wider grasp of an alternative history and tradition that has developed alongside the one emphasised in traditional histories of the social sciences.
Journey inside the pages of Scripture to meet a personal God who enters individual lives and begins a creative work from the inside out. Shaped with the individual in mind, Immersion encourages simultaneous engagement both with the Word of God and with the God of the Word to become a new creation in Christ. Immersion, inspired by a fresh translation--the Common English Bible--stands firmly on Scripture and helps readers explore the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual needs of their personal faith. More importantly, they ll be able to discover God s revelation through readings and reflections.
This book builds on two current developments in psychology scholarship and practice. The first centers on broad discontent with the individualist tradition in which the rational agent, or autonomous self, is considered the fundamental atom of social life. Critique of individualism spring not only from psychologists working in the academy, but also from communities of therapy and counseling. The second, and related development from which this work builds, is the search for alternatives to individualist understanding. Thus, therapists such as Steve Mitchell, along with feminists at the Stone Center, expand the psychoanalytic tradition to include a relational orientation to therapy. The present volume will give voice to the critique of individualism, but its major thrust is to develop and illustrate a far more radical and potentially exciting landscape of relational thought and practice that now exists. Most existing attempts to build a relational foundation remain committed to a residual form of individualist psychology. The present work carves out a space of understanding in which relational process stands prior to the very concept of the individual. More broadly, the book attempts to develop a thoroughgoing relational account of human activity. In doing so, Gergen reconstitutes 'the mind' as a manifestation of relationships and bears out these ideas in a range of everyday professional practices, including family therapy, collaborative classrooms, and organizational psychology.
This fully updated fourth edition of Gergen’s An Invitation to Social Construction introduces you to a key theoretical movement in contemporary social science through a wide range of multidisciplinary examples. The fourth edition includes: wider consideration of contemporary global challenges, increased coverage of media, digital culture, and relevant political issues, updated real-world examples of social constructionist theory in action, in research, education, therapy, organizations, and peace building. This book brings together complex theories that inform and critically build upon social constructionism, such as narratology, deconstruction, dialogism, positivism, and post-structuralism, in a way that is accessible for students and researchers alike. It is a vital resource for those studying social psychology and critical social psychology who are looking for a comprehensive guide to one of the core topics in the field. Kenneth J Gergen is Senior Research Professor in Psychology at Swarthmore College, and the President of the Taos Institute.
The highly praised Fourth Edition of An Invitation to Environmental Sociology brings out the sociology of environmental possibility, inviting students to delve into this rapidly changing field. Written in a lively, engaging style, Bell covers the broad range of topics in environmental sociology with a personal passion rarely seen in sociology textbooks. With extensively updated material on the environmental situation, this edition challenges readers with the complexity of environmental puzzles.
If there were ever a time for environmental sociology, it is now. As COVID-19 is spreading across our communities, our countries, our world, we have all become too familiar with maintaining that awful term of "social distance." Yet there can be no true distance from that which is always with us and within us: our social ecology An Invitation to Environmental Sociology invites students to delve into this rapidly changing field. Written in a lively, engaging style, the authors cover a broad range of topics in environmental sociology with a personal passion rarely seen in sociology texts. The book′s unique organization explores three different kinds of questions about interactions between humans and the natural world: the material, the ideal, and the practical. The Sixth Edition of this bestseller comprises 12 chapters instead of 13, making it easier to fit into the normal rhythm of a course. But the result is also an edition that is up-to-date and enriched with much newer material, while continuing to use an inviting tone that the title promises. Included with this title: The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.
