Social Construction: Knowledge, Self, Others, and Continuing the Conversation

Social constructionism’s relevance to communication studies is demonstrated through the development of three arguments. First, as theories of knowledge presume a theory of human functioning with others, traditional conceptions of the person are subject to transformation. Second, theories of communication are carefully intertwined with theories of the person and philosophies of knowledge. And, third, the conversational context of everyday life holds keys to understanding the entire edifice of constructed knowledge. From these central themes, seven “instructive statements” are proposed as rudimentary accounts of critical aspects of conventional exchange.