Social Constructionism and Discourse Analysis:Epistemological aspect

Abstract

During the past 20 years, Social Constructionism has emerged as a significant “paradigm” in psychology. For constructionists, the terms by which we achieve understanding of the world and ourselves are products of historically and culturally situated interchanges among people. This paper attempts to analyze the approach of Social Constructionism on Discourse Analysis. The article traces the origins and the development of main ideas of Social Constructionism. We shall examine the philosophical and epistemological foundation of Social Constructionist Discourse Analysis. The Social Constructionism has been criticized recently by Critical Realists.