Unfolding Social Constructionism is a book that stands as a testimony to the growing influence of... more Unfolding Social Constructionism is a book that stands as a testimony to the growing influence of social constructionism right across the social sciences. Gone are the days when it was just a voice from the margins—now it is a force to be reckoned with. Here Hibberd locks horns with social constructionism’s most pivotal character: Kenneth Gergen. In a careful review of his work, she dissects the key components of constructionism’s meta-theory, and she also considers (and dismisses) some of the more common lines of critique. Yet for all her sophistication, Hibberd misses (or refuses?) something very simple—that her own critique is a view from somewhere. She simply asserts realist epistemology as the truth, without for one moment seeing the irony of this assertion (from a social constructionist perspective, that is). I put her straight....
Very little academic work has focused upon the British monarchy/ Royal Family and its significanc... more Very little academic work has focused upon the British monarchy/ Royal Family and its significance for the people of Britain. However, of the more recent pieces of work on the subject, several have emphasized the ideological impact of the institution (Coward, 1984; Williamson, 1986; Billig, 1990). This is an emphasis which similarly characterizes the present study. Indeed a substantial part of this thesis is taken up with a theoretical discussion about the nature of ideology itself. Following Barthes (1982), I argue that the relationship between a culture/ ideology and its practitioners is paradoxical. Each is simultaneously the master and slave of the other. There are four empirical chapters contained within this volume, the first of which is a quantitative account of popular press representations of monarchy. The other three empirical chapters are, in part, an investigation and illustration of the paradoxical nature of culture/ideology. Drawing predominantly from a three-month sample of Royal-related newspaper items (29th Nov. 1987–29th Feb. 1988) the first shows how various cultural/ ideological themes or discourses determine or give form to the texts. In the second I examine the ways in which similar themes are used constructively in the production of accounts which accomplish a variety of rhetorical, political and ideological 'moves'. These themes are also present within the fourth empirical chapter in which I examine some of the ideological work done via the representation of the Royals as ordinary, extraordinary and 'superordinary' beings. Chapters 6 and 7 also serve to reveal something of the nature of two subject matter categories as defined in Chapter 4. In the final chapter I take issue with certain aspects of the present study's own theoretical and methodological bases.
of precisely such questions? Is a focus simply on ANT, particularly where it is challenged inside... more of precisely such questions? Is a focus simply on ANT, particularly where it is challenged inside this book, a sufficient overview of the theoretical trends in this area given the wide range of alternative conceptions of the social study of technology? Overall, this is an ambitious and useful book that will provide those familiar with the area much food for thought, and will provide the committed postgraduate reader with a good orientation to some aspects of ANT and ICT. Inevitably it is the chapters by Latour and Sassen that provide the most interest for those with a STS, sociology or cultural studies background. Yet this book must also be applauded for its commitment to providing an overview that does not duck from presenting a debate as well as a description of key objects of enquiry. As to whether it will change attitudes in management studies or computer science is debatable: perhaps the brand of the LSE will allow this text to cross boundaries that have, unfortunately, been impassable for a long time.
[From book introduction] In Chapter 11, Nigel Edley and Margaret Wetherell identify a particular ... more [From book introduction] In Chapter 11, Nigel Edley and Margaret Wetherell identify a particular challenge for discursive psychology, that is, to fruitfully combine analytical principles from both branches – in the face of critics who maintain that macro-analysis of discourse patterns works at the expense of micro-analysis of the interactional context of talk (Wooffitt, 2005). They claim that an expanded and integrative discursive psychology that assumes a broad understanding of constructionism and aims to work across both the micro and the macro would in principle combine a focus on ‘how speakers construct (and use) gender categories and how they are constructed – as gendered beings – by those very categories’.
In this chapter we want to focus on men and forms of masculinity. Our aim is to explore some of t... more In this chapter we want to focus on men and forms of masculinity. Our aim is to explore some of the approaches and concepts which we think should form the basis for an adequate feminist social psychology of masculine identities. We will argue that such a social psychology can draw from recent developments in poststructuralist theory (broadly defined) but must also take as its topic the everyday practical activities of men, and thus must find ways of productively researching masculinities in situ, in context.
Unfolding Social Constructionism is a book that stands as a testimony to the growing influence of... more Unfolding Social Constructionism is a book that stands as a testimony to the growing influence of social constructionism right across the social sciences. Gone are the days when it was just a voice from the margins—now it is a force to be reckoned with. Here Hibberd locks horns with social constructionism’s most pivotal character: Kenneth Gergen. In a careful review of his work, she dissects the key components of constructionism’s meta-theory, and she also considers (and dismisses) some of the more common lines of critique. Yet for all her sophistication, Hibberd misses (or refuses?) something very simple—that her own critique is a view from somewhere. She simply asserts realist epistemology as the truth, without for one moment seeing the irony of this assertion (from a social constructionist perspective, that is). I put her straight....
Very little academic work has focused upon the British monarchy/ Royal Family and its significanc... more Very little academic work has focused upon the British monarchy/ Royal Family and its significance for the people of Britain. However, of the more recent pieces of work on the subject, several have emphasized the ideological impact of the institution (Coward, 1984; Williamson, 1986; Billig, 1990). This is an emphasis which similarly characterizes the present study. Indeed a substantial part of this thesis is taken up with a theoretical discussion about the nature of ideology itself. Following Barthes (1982), I argue that the relationship between a culture/ ideology and its practitioners is paradoxical. Each is simultaneously the master and slave of the other. There are four empirical chapters contained within this volume, the first of which is a quantitative account of popular press representations of monarchy. The other three empirical chapters are, in part, an investigation and illustration of the paradoxical nature of culture/ideology. Drawing predominantly from a three-month sample of Royal-related newspaper items (29th Nov. 1987–29th Feb. 1988) the first shows how various cultural/ ideological themes or discourses determine or give form to the texts. In the second I examine the ways in which similar themes are used constructively in the production of accounts which accomplish a variety of rhetorical, political and ideological 'moves'. These themes are also present within the fourth empirical chapter in which I examine some of the ideological work done via the representation of the Royals as ordinary, extraordinary and 'superordinary' beings. Chapters 6 and 7 also serve to reveal something of the nature of two subject matter categories as defined in Chapter 4. In the final chapter I take issue with certain aspects of the present study's own theoretical and methodological bases.
of precisely such questions? Is a focus simply on ANT, particularly where it is challenged inside... more of precisely such questions? Is a focus simply on ANT, particularly where it is challenged inside this book, a sufficient overview of the theoretical trends in this area given the wide range of alternative conceptions of the social study of technology? Overall, this is an ambitious and useful book that will provide those familiar with the area much food for thought, and will provide the committed postgraduate reader with a good orientation to some aspects of ANT and ICT. Inevitably it is the chapters by Latour and Sassen that provide the most interest for those with a STS, sociology or cultural studies background. Yet this book must also be applauded for its commitment to providing an overview that does not duck from presenting a debate as well as a description of key objects of enquiry. As to whether it will change attitudes in management studies or computer science is debatable: perhaps the brand of the LSE will allow this text to cross boundaries that have, unfortunately, been impassable for a long time.
[From book introduction] In Chapter 11, Nigel Edley and Margaret Wetherell identify a particular ... more [From book introduction] In Chapter 11, Nigel Edley and Margaret Wetherell identify a particular challenge for discursive psychology, that is, to fruitfully combine analytical principles from both branches – in the face of critics who maintain that macro-analysis of discourse patterns works at the expense of micro-analysis of the interactional context of talk (Wooffitt, 2005). They claim that an expanded and integrative discursive psychology that assumes a broad understanding of constructionism and aims to work across both the micro and the macro would in principle combine a focus on ‘how speakers construct (and use) gender categories and how they are constructed – as gendered beings – by those very categories’.
In this chapter we want to focus on men and forms of masculinity. Our aim is to explore some of t... more In this chapter we want to focus on men and forms of masculinity. Our aim is to explore some of the approaches and concepts which we think should form the basis for an adequate feminist social psychology of masculine identities. We will argue that such a social psychology can draw from recent developments in poststructuralist theory (broadly defined) but must also take as its topic the everyday practical activities of men, and thus must find ways of productively researching masculinities in situ, in context.
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