Social Construction in Context

Kenneth J. Gergen is a Senior Research Professor in Psychology at Swarthmore College, and the President of the Taos Institute. He is internationally known for his contributions to social constructionist theory, technology and cultural change, the self, aging, education, and relational theory and practices. His major writings include, Realities and Relationships: Soundings in Social Construction, The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life, and Relational Being: Beyond Self and Community. His most recent work Beyond the Tyranny of Testing: Relational Evaluation in Education (with Scherto Gill) offers a relational constructionist alternative to the destructive practices of testing and grading in education. Gergen lectures throughout the world, and has received numerous awards for his work, including honorary degrees in both the U.S. and Europe.

PART ONE: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND THE HUMAN SCIENCES Constructionism and Realism A Necessary Collision? The Place of the Psyche in a Constructed World The Limits of Pure Critique Who Speaks and Who Responds in the Human Sciences? History and Psychology Conflict and Communion PART TWO: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND SOCIETAL PRACTICE Therapy as Social Construction Social Construction with Pedagogical Practice Power in a Relational Frame The Ethical Challenge of Global Organization Organizational Science in a Postmodern Context PART THREE: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND CULTURAL CONTEXT From Identity to Relational Politics Technology, Self and the Moral Project