UNIT 1:
STUDY
SECTION 1.2
PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF THE ICONS WE USE IN OUR
ONLINE CONTENT
We may use these in the presentation to refer to our online content
THE ICONS WE USE IN WVCS223
CONTENTS
SECTION 1
1 In this section we will focus on the aim
of social constructionism that is
debunking social constructs through
critical thinking.
Not everyone will understand
your journey. That’s fine. It’s
not their journey to make
sense of. It’s yours.
- Zero Dean (2013)
3
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
SECTION ONE
SECTION 1
1
This week we will look at the next
pressing question: “What is the purpose
of social constructionism?”.
It is also important to you ask yourself
further questions such as: what the aim
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
or use of social constructionism is?
What are we trying to do?
Why are we investigating social
constructs and social categories?
RECAP
In study section 1.1 we looked at what is a social construct, and we were introduced to the social
constructionism work of Berger and Luckmann. There are three important aspects of a social
construct which were unpacked; language, culture and historical context.
THIS WEEK:
We will be focusing on the next pressing question: “What is the purpose of social
constructionism?”
1. We establish how a social construct van be identified through logical and critical thinking.
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
2. We look at the different Earths to better understand that a social construct could have been
constructed differently.
3. We then conclude this section with some examples of social constructs we can find on Earth.
AIM OF SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
What is the aim of social constructionism?
● The simple answer is the primary use of social construction has been for raising consciousness-
as some social constructs are oppressive such as gender and race and a social constructionist
stance can differ political critique, in the aim of social justice.
● Icelandic philosopher Astra-presents the aim of social constructionism.
● An important social constructionist aim is to debunk or question widely held beliefs that
underly social constructs that serve to validate arrangements, practices and institutions that
are oppressive in some way or another.
● The beliefs focus on the nature of the social construct or social categories that are the
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
enablement’s and constraints that are a result of the social constructs are then shown to need
justification.
STRUCTURE OF LOGICAL THOUGHT AS A FORM OF CRITICAL THINKING
● The structure of logical thought is present when you want to identify a social construct.
Ian Hackling attests that social construction work is critical of the status quo.
Social constructionists about X [e.g. social construct] tend to hold that:
As a precondition:
(0) In the present state of affairs, X is taken for granted; X appears to be inevitable.
If (0), then they can continue that:
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
(1) X need not have existed or need not be at all as it is. X, or X as it is at present, is not
determined by the nature of things; it is not inevitable.
Very often they go further, and urge that:
(2) X is quite bad as it is.
(3) We would be much better off if X were done away with, or at least radically transformed.
STRUCTURE OF LOGICAL THOUGHT AS A FORM OF CRITICAL THINKING
● Statement (0) is not an assumption or presupposition about X. It states a precondition for a
social constructionist thesis about X…A thesis of type (1) is the starting point: the existence
or character of X is not determined by the nature of things.
● X is not inevitable. X was brought into existence or shaped by social events, forces, history, all
of which could well have been different. Many social construction theses at once advance to (2)
and (3), but they need not do so.
● One may realize that something, which seems inevitable in the present state of things, was not
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
inevitable, and yet is not thereby a bad thing. But most people who use the social construction
idea enthusiastically want to criticize, change, or destroy some X (i.e. social construct) that
they dislike in the established order of things.
● Hackling emphasizes that the significant claim regarding a social construct is that it could have
been structured differently had the people collectively thought about the construct
differently.
STRUCTURE OF A LOGICAL THOUGHT AS A FORM OF CRITICAL THINKING
● Simone de Beauvoir attempts to define gender. She contends that “one is not born, but rather
becomes a woman. No biological, psychological or economic fate determines the figure that
the human female , presents in society: it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature”.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS AND DIFFERENT EARTHS
● Some social constructs and categories have been accepted while some categories are
controversial and are highly debated, e.g., Race and gender.
● There are several examples of social construction, such as; money and a particular country.
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
What is social construction?
● Watch this video below where the Prof. Mark Jago talk through some examples of socially
constructed entities (money, disabled parking spaces, language, gender and disability), and
discuss whether everything is socially constructed.
What is Social Construction? | Attic Philosophy - YouTube
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
DIFFERENT EARTHS
Reflective activity
The links between gender, colour, and types of toys are by no means objective
representations of facts or truths. Instead, it is socially objectivated facts that were created
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
and accepted within the context of our society. Interestingly, in contemporary Western
society [on Earth One], gender and colour are (generally) considered related. Blue is a “boy
colour” and the colour pink represents girls. This is a socially collective perception that links
colour with gender. We can go further and say that boys should play with specific toys, like
guns (that are linked to protection) and girls with other types of toys, like dolls (that are
linked to caring and nurturing).
Do you associate different genders? If so, why? In 2-3 sentences-write
what you think the motivation behind such ideas is?
ADDITIONAL NON-COMPULSORY MATERIAL
Please watch the following videos below:
PRESENTATION TITLE / SECTION 1
Social constructionism | Society and Culture | MCAT | Khan Academy – YouTube
Social Constructionism MCAT Mnemonic – YouTube
The Matrix & The Social Construction of Reality - YouTube
END!
