O THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST PROJECT IN THE WORK OF KENNETH GERGEN
Abstract
Kenneth Gergen is one of the main voices of the social constructionist discourse in Psychology. Despite his importance in the dissemination of social constructionism, there is a shortage of studies on the elaboration of his thought. In this sense, analyzing the formation process of the constructionist project in the work of Kenneth Gergen would allow us to denaturalize what social constructionism is, as well as respond to the need to take seriously its criticisms and proposals. Thus, the objective of this study is to analyze the development of the social constructionist project in the work of Kenneth Gergen. Methodologically, we seek to track the process of theoretical construction, the extensions and suppressions of the concepts present in the main texts of the author. The analysis made it possible to characterize significant moments of his work, such as: a) the initial works; b) criticism of empiricism; c) the social constructionist movement; and d) toward science as performance and relational practices. In addition, it pointed out how the emphasis on relationships reconfigures the social constructionist project, sustained by questioning in three significant fields: the role of science, the status of the social, and the definition of self. The analytical exercise carried out explains the complexity of Kenneth Gergen's thinking and contextualizes the constructionist project within a work still under development.
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