Читать книгу Essential Concepts in Sociology - Anthony Giddens - Страница 79

The origins of social constructionism can be traced back to the ‘social problems’ perspective of the early 1970s, which saw social problems as claims on people’s attention and the state’s resources. In a competitive claims environment where there are always too many claims for the available resources, this perspective analysed how some claims are able to rise to prominence while others are neglected. However, constructionism today also draws on ideas from the sociology of scientific knowledge (known as SSK), which studies the social processes underlying knowledge production. SSK sees science as itself a form of social activity which must therefore be amenable to sociological investigation. Scientific theories are products of their society, and SSK has often questioned their apparently ‘universal’ validity.

The coming together of these two strands has led to a general and widespread social constructionism in sociology. This general perspective has been used to analyse a variety of phenomena, from the social construction of Europe to serial homicide, dementia, sexuality and even the ocean. The common theme in all of these studies is an attempt to raise questions about the ‘natural’ or ‘objective’ status of their objects of inquiry. Social constructionist arguments have also been useful for social movements, such as feminism and disabled people’s movements, which challenge the seemingly ‘natural’ status quo that disadvantages women and disabled people respectively.