Many thanks to Ken for once again providing us all with such a rich
line up of sources. I hate to be the one to introduce distinctions,
particularly when it comes to the academic habit of inventing inelegant
terms, but this one is necessary because it marks a subtle and
important difference between constructionism, with which I feel some
affinity, and constructivism, with which I feel only a distant
affinity. I may be wrong, but I think Ken lumps the two together under
the general heading of constructivism.
To quote one of the leading 'constructionist' thinkers and practioners:
> Although it is an oversimplification, it is useful to say that
constructivists see
> communication as a cognitive process of knowingthe world and social
> constructionists see it as a social process of creatingthe world. …
> constructivists foreground perception while social constructionists
foreground
> action. (Pearce 1995, p 98)
If any of you cannot sleep and are interested to know
"how-constructionism-changed-my-life" as a designer, the grizzly
details are to be found on our web site at:
http://www.communication.org.au/html/paper_26.html
I'm off to bed to sleep, perchance.
Good night
David
References
Pearce W Barnett 1995. A sailing guide for social constructionists. In
Leeds-Hurwitz Wendy (ed), Social Approaches to Communication, 88–113.
New York: Guildford Press.
--
Professor David Sless
BA MSc FRSA
Co-Chair Information Design Association
Senior Research Fellow Coventry University
Director
Communication Research Institute of Australia
** helping people communicate with people **
PO Box 1008
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VIC 3142, Australia
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