Читать книгу The Sage Handbook of Social Constructionist Practice - Группа авторов - Страница 24

As we have seen, constructionist ideas and practices have emerged in widely disparate professions around the world. Further, there are numerous communities – both professional and informal – in which practices congenial with constructionist ideas are continuing to emerge. Yet, communication between and among these many cousins is effortful. Books and journals are significant vehicles for information transfer, but their costs are often prohibitive, they lack broad visibility, they require translation, and the writing is often technical and opaque. The result is essentially a general state of mutual ignorance both within and across the domains of theory and practice, and across cultures. Metaphorically there is little that functions as an agora or public space for sharing and discussing developments. As constructionists emphasize, it is just such dialogues that kindle curiosity and enthusiasm, build confidence, spark innovation, and generate thoughtful reflection.

The present volume is a contribution to building this public space, and while broadly representative, the chief site of dialogue may be between readers and the authors. There are increasing numbers of conferences built around constructionist-friendly practices – in education, therapy and healthcare for example. Likewise, there are many websites that gather and feature relevant practices from broad sectors. And the Taos Institute has long attempted to bring together scholars and practitioners from around the world to share their work and inspire further growth. However, sustaining and developing the impetus to innovation will importantly depend on generating more plentiful sites for trans-disciplinary and trans-cultural dialogue. Most efficient and least environmentally harmful may be the offerings of the ever-expanding vistas of web-based communication.