Social Constructionism in Environmental Sociology: Useful or Not
Throughout the world there are many diverse cultures and nations which result in many societies that differ. They differ by means of their beliefs, their perceptions and the values they put on general objects and matters evident around the world. They construct their realities by how they perceive things, and once a perception gains traction within the majority of a society it gets internalized by them. Thus resulting in future generations inheriting the same perception by means of socialization. This construction of perceptions and meanings are what this essay is about. It is called social construction. The essay focuses more explicitly on the social construction of environmental problems and issues. It does this by looking at examples of how and why certain societies can come to consider certain natural phenomena as environmental threats or issues, and asks the question of whether their perceptions are right or not. It focuses the concept of social constructionism and determines the relevance of it in environmental issues. It does this by looking at past findings of attempts at deconstructing the perceptions some societies have on their own identified environmental problems to be able to see if it helped with solutions to the problems. And lastly, it identifies criticism levelled against social constructionism in environmental sociology. All to support the following hypothesis: It is important to take the social construction aspect into consideration when looking at certain environmental problems to be able to identify hidden agendas when it comes to solving the perceived problems. But first, a brief definition of the social construction of environmental issues is necessary (As there are many- and some contradictory). It will serve as a foundation for building an understanding of what is going to be discussed.
When something is socially constructed it then begs the question of whether the threat or issue is in fact a real threat or issue because according to
When something is socially constructed it then begs the question of whether the threat or issue is in fact a real threat or issue because according to