Social Constructionism Definition - Term Paper Example

Name Instructor’s name Name of institution Subject Number of words Date As a sociological theory of knowledge, Social construction considers how social phenomena develop into social contexts. It is a practice of a particular group such that when we say that something is a socially constructed the focus is usually on the issues dependence on contingent variables from within our social selves. This sociological theory is seen to be typically based on reality, learning, and knowledge. This theory aims at uncovering the ways in which various individuals as well as groups participate in the construction of their social reality. It is highly involved in looking at the way social phenomena are created, made or even known in human traditions (Weinberg, 2009). This approach can be termed as a way in which attention is focused on to various activities an also processes where the conditions come to be defined as social problems. The way in which members of the society construct definitions and be able to make meaning to social problems. It is built upon the observation that our everyday experience result from the consequence of an implicit social agreement, collective social action or institutional practices. From social construction comes a social construct which we can refer to anything whose existence is y the virtue of social interactions; opposed to objective reality. One of the most effective way of being able to study the social problems is taking the social constructionist approach. This is because it suggests the degree to which the social problems are a perceived as being problematic considering the kind of problem it is; this is a social interaction function. We might consider the example that many Americans consider drunk driving as a very bad thing which is a serious threat to very many people's lives. This act is not only embarrassing but also punishable by the law and on the other hand, its conviction could bring about a social opprobrium. But this has not always been the case and in other parts of the United States the problem is not that stigmatized (Spector, 1976). According to a great social theorist Wright mills (1950) politics is a process through which private troubles get a construction to being social problems. A good example can be drawn from the second-wave feminism of the 1960s and 1970s, this women's movement encouraged women in seeing their private problems as having escalated from the broader society's gender relations as well as the social structures. This is a way of giving emphasis on how personal is political. During these period as from the 1960-70s, the consciousness raising groups among the women gender involved in bring them together so that they can share personal troubles and be able to find out that they were not alone. They therefore were able to decide that there existed a common cause to their individual problems (Spector, 1976). In their situation, their problems were as a result of gender relations where they felt that the power relations come from the political class which was filled by men and which as a result trickled down and was felt even in the homes. The patriarchal system was part of the causes of their problems that they faced in the time. They blamed the system of the time for their problems. This is when they decided to move their private problem to be political. They did this by mobilizing to work together so that they could be able to attack the social sources of their problems to be able to outdo the oppression and be able to get social institutions such as the government of the time to get back and change the policies and practices so as to address what they found to be pressing issues. This serves a very good example of how our social problems are politicized. It starts off with the recognition of the problem, then it transits to several people sharing it and it is blown out to becoming a condition of great severity and also intensity (Spector, 1976). A situation of say poverty of an economically marginalized neighbourhood, much as this is a social problem to be able to solve this problem social actors as well as activists are brought onboard to be able to work and get this social problem to be recognized by the public in general as a social problem. Remember that this problem exists among a few members in a society but it takes they entire public to be able to deal with this problem. This means that there is no existence of social problems as much as they were constructed to be able to be recognized (Weinberg, 2009). In the next group where interest groups, claims makers as well as social movements are involved in the collective efforts to be able to enlist support politically even from the public to be willing to get involved, they tend to address the social problem in a public relations angle. They are much more involved in constructing a crisis from the social problem. Be a it a drug crisis, a homelessness crisis, or even a child abuse crisis they will want to use a political approach for it is seen as an immediate method with a drastic intervention (Spector, 1976). Social movements will act more like interest groups to give a legitimating of what they want done so that they can accommodate other powerful actors as a way of having the social problems solved. In most cases with various social problems that exist in the society, there is a process of collective definition where people recognize the problem without gathering facts. People are mobilized as the problem is turned to the public so that it can get support for action against this problem. After this there is the formulation of public policies to address this style of the social problem. According to Ross and Staines (1971), there is an essentially political nature to both the definition of the social problems as well as to the way of solving the problems. This is because it so happens in most cases they social problems are as a result of some reforms that were politically instigated that results to the social problems and to resolve it, a political will has to be cultivated so as to come up with a solution for the said social problem. This approach puts emphasis on the importance of people, politics and power being part and parcel of social problem creation and they are the reason why a social problem starts from the individual to being public. This situation s explained as being important to look at the social, economic power, and political arena to be able to identify the varying interests underlying to having the phenomenon being labeled as being problematic as well as those attempting to shut the recognition. For a social problem becoming a public issue, there is usually a complex political process developing around the activities of institutions major actors. From the media to private interest groups. There is usually conflicts arising on not just what should be considered a public issue but also over how to have the problem solved. This is why social problems remain what people think they are and for this fact social problems change over time and among individuals/society. This in essence means that problem to various interested parties is not usually the same. Social problems can be distinguished from individual, economic and political problems; but they cannot be completely distinguished. I say this because the scale of the problem is never sufficient condition to be able to quantify why the problem becomes a public issue. The need to understand the social context in which this problem occurs is paramount. The " whose problem is this?" can distinguish them better. We see some problems becoming individual or public as a result of the actions taken by the people who experience them take. For example domestic violence, campaigns to draw attention to incidences becoming widespread even with its public invisibility. This is done to raise the concern about the abuse involved on vulnerable people (Weinberg, 2009). Conclusion Social construction is an active process where there is definition and redefinition of issues that are widely understood as social problems and others understood as not. For example, unemployment was understood as a social problem which is named a public trouble; it does not mean that this will always be a social problem its nature will change overtime. This is because if the unemployment issue is understood as one created by the economic failure, ways will be devised to be able to create jobs as well as revitalize the economy. Social problems are social since they capture public attention and this makes them more than private troubles having put the reasons of scale but most appropriately because they connect various public issues, concerns and values (Weinberg, 2009). It will be argued out that if the problem of homelessness is viewed as a matter of individual choice it is not likely t be viewed as a social problem that may require public attention (Spector, 1976). And this is where social construction comes in, it determines the issues to be defined as social problems as well as the ways that these social problems are defined as such. References Mills, C. Wright (1956) The Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press. Ross, Robert and Graham C. Staines (1971) "The politics of analyzing social problems." Social Problems 20: 18-40. Spector, M. (1976). Teaching Sociology. The Social Construction of Social Problems , Vol. 3, 167-184. Weinberg, D. (2009, Jan). On the Social Construction of Social Problems and Social Problems Theory: A Contribution to the Legacy of John Kitsuse. Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge , 61–78. Read More