Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Miller, Gale
• Holstein, James A

Titel

CONSTRUCTIONIST CONTROVERSIES: ISSUES IN SOCIAL PROBLEMS THEORY

Erscheinungsjahr

1993

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Sociological Abstracts

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A review of contributions to social problems theory that have been made by social constructionist theorists over the last twenty-five years, published as part of the Social Problems & Social Issues series (Joel Best, series editor) & presented in II PARTS with an Introduction, a Preface, & 11 Chpts. INTRODUCTION - (1) Gale Miller & James A. Holstein -- Constructing Social Problems: Context and Legacy -- explains that the purpose of the book is to critically review the social constructionist perspective in light of new developments & emerging controversies in social problems theory, & discusses the organization of the book. PART I - CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM - contains (2) Peter R. Ibarra & John I. Kitsuse -- Vernacular Constituents of Moral Discourse: An Interactionist Proposal for the Study of Social Problems -- presents a clarification & expansion of Malcolm Spector's & John Kitsuse's constructionist theory of social problems (1987 [1977]), showing how a revised approach can better address common criticisms & stressing how rhetoric practically accomplishes social problems; (3) Jaber F. Gubrium -- For a Cautious Naturalism -- offers a response to Ibarra's & Kitsuse's analysis (Chpt 2), & argues that the focus of much constructionist theorizing & research on social problems has been on large-scale claims-making; (4) Melvin Pollner -- The Reflectivity of Constructionism and the Construction of Reflexivity -- examines the ethnomethodological concern for reflexivity, arguing that constructionists ought to make reflexivity a central topic of analysis; (5) David Bogen & Michael Lynch -- Do We Need a General Theory of Social Problems? -- questions the desirability of a general theory of social problems, arguing that researchers should aim to produce rich, detailed, & provocative descriptions of unique ensembles of discursive routines & practices; & (6) Joel Best -- But Seriously Folks: The Limitations of the Strict Constructionist Interpretation of Social Problems -- argues that the strict constructionist concern with epistemological consistency is both misguided & counterproductive. PART II - NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM - contains (7) James A. Holstein & Gale Miller -- Social Constructionism and Social Problems Work -- outlines an approach to the analysis of social problems that links the ethnomethodological concern for constitutive practice with constructionist interests in social problems categories; (8) Leslie J. Miller -- Claims-Making from the Underside: Marginalization and Social Problems Analysis -- offers a feminist, poststructural examination of gender, silence, & claims-making, arguing that constructionism's emphasis on public claims-making leads to inadequate understandings of social problems construction; (9) Michal M. McCall -- Social Constructionism in Critical Feminist Theory and Practice -- presents a critical assessment of the social constructionism perspective in sociology, arguing that what is needed is a feminist approach to social problems; (10) Herman Gray -- Cultural Theory, Social Construction, and Social Problems -- argues that social constructionists need to take a more reflexive & political stance toward their own writing & theorizing, & that the social constructionist program needs to be extended to include recent developments in cultural studies, feminism, & minority discourses; & (11) Donileen R. Loseke -- Constructing Conditions, People, Morality, and Emotion: Expanding the Agenda of Constructionism -- makes a case for extending social constructionism to take account of the ways in which putative people are constructed within social problems discourses. References accompany each Chpt. W. Howard