Rebuilding a Classic: The Social Construction of Reality at 50

This paper traces the eventful legacy of The Social Construction of Reality, by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, which has been widely acclaimed as a classic text in sociology, but also has been subject to glaring and persistent misinterpretations. The paper discusses the inception and significance of the title along with the principal arguments of the authors’ work. The main achievements and shortfalls of the intellectual project behind the book are considered. The paper also introduces the contents of a special issue of Cultural Sociology to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the book’s publication.