WVCS 223 Study Unit 1.1 Notes PDF
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These notes cover social constructs, social constructionism, and Berger and Luckman's schema. They explain how social constructs are created and maintained through social interaction, highlighting the importance of language, culture, and context. The notes also discuss social constructionism's emphasis on subjective meaning and understanding.
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**[WVCS 223 -- STUDY UNIT 1.1]** **Social construct:** An idea that has been created through social interaction and accepted by society. Social constructs have an inherent meaning and are subjective as they were made by humans. **Facts --** facts depend on communal thinking. Facts are considered...
**[WVCS 223 -- STUDY UNIT 1.1]** **Social construct:** An idea that has been created through social interaction and accepted by society. Social constructs have an inherent meaning and are subjective as they were made by humans. **Facts --** facts depend on communal thinking. Facts are considered objective even though they are based off of subjective thought. **The social construction of reality --** Berger and Luckman introduced social construction. Knowledge is socially constructed as it was formed through social interactions. **Berger and Luckman\'s Schema -** - Externalization -- people give meaning to their mental and physical reality, creating the social world. - Objectification -- ideas "harden" and reality is established. Reality seems independent of people. - Internalization -- The external "objective" world becomes a part of your internal "subjective" world. 1. **Language --** without humans and language social constructs would not exist as there would be no way for interactions to happen thus social constructs can't form. 2. **Culture --** social constructs are formed through the cultural norms and contexts we are brought up with. 3. **Context --** societies in different places and at different times have different social constructs. **Social Constructionism:** - Focuses on subjective meaning and understanding - Meaning and understanding originate in social interaction - Meaning in embedded in culture and context - Social constructionism wants to expose unjust social constructs and change or replace them. - Critical thinking -- the objective evaluation of an issue to form a judgement. - Sociocentrism -- the tendency to assume the rightness of one\'s group. - Self-awareness -- being conscious of your opinions and beliefs and the worldview that underlies them. - Respect -- being considerate of others feelings, rights and wishes.
