This course will help you understand the expressions social construction and social constructionism. These terms are used in the study of the Social Sciences and, in particular, in relation to Social Policy. The materials are primarily an audio file, originally 28 minutes in length and recorded in 2001.
This OpenLearn course provides a sample of Level 1 study in Sociology.
After studying this course, you should be able to:
define social construction and social constructionism.
The audio file included in this course was designed to complement the D218 Social Policy: Welfare, Power and Diversity Open University course. It is intended to help you gain a greater understanding of the terms: social construction and social constructionism.
The audio file was recorded in 2001. It is a studio discussion between academic colleagues who examine and define social construction and social constructionism.
Participants in the discussion were:
John Clarke Professor of Social Policy at The Open University;
Esther Saraga Social Sciences Staff Tutor in The Open University's London region;
Gail Lewis Social Sciences Staff Tutor in The Open University.
All are experienced OU tutors.
Listen to the audio files. You may find it helpful to listen to the recordings a second time and take notes that help define the terms social construction and social constructionism.
Social Construction/Constructionism part 1 (8 minutes 5.5 MB)
Social Construction/Constructionism part 2 (10.5 minutes 4.0 MB)
Social Construction/Constructionism part 3 (9 minutes 4.5 MB)
This free course provided an introduction to studying Sociology. It took you through a series of exercises designed to develop your approach to study and learning at a distance and helped to improve your confidence as an independent learner.
The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence.
This extract is taken from D218: Social policy: welfare, power and diversity, produced by the BBC on behalf of the Open University.
© 2007 The Open University.
Course image: aotaro in Flickr made available under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Licence.
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