Social Constructionism, Postmodernism and Deconstructionism

Attachment and the archive: barriers and facilitators to the use of historical sociology as complementary developmental science

“…I had been trained within a form of historical sociology that saw as its primary task the critique of assumptions within the practices under scrutiny. This could certainly include the evaluation and arbitration of knowledge claims, treating knowledge as a constituent feature and practice within the world rather than solely a reflection of it (see Jardine 2004; Baert et al 2011). Such an approach sits within a broader trend within historical epistemology towards consideration of the past specifically in light of the present and present concerns (Oreskes 2013;Weidman 2016;Loison 2016).…”

‘An army of our own’: Legitimating the professional position of HR through well-being at work

“…Especially the postmodern stream of social constructionism has been criticized for its anti-foundational stance; this means the complete denial of an objective reality that exists apart from our interpretations (Baert et al 2014). Also, the relationship between social constructionism and realism in discourse analysis has caused considerable debate (Grant et al 2009).…”

“…In addition, the rejection of causal explanations by the postmodern version of social constructionism is considered problematic. Through its anti-causal stance, it is limited in explaining wider societal phenomena (Baert et al 2014;Reed 2009). Fairclough (2005) criticizes the adoption of extreme versions of social constructionism in discursive research within organization studies.…”