Feminist Reconstructions in Psychology: Narrative, Gender, and PerformanceSAGE Publications, 2000 M10 3 - 240 pages Feminist Reconstructions in Psychology introduces a distinctive new mode of doing psychology. This psychology is based on an increasingly popular range of ideas called social constructionism. Within the book, new forms of theory and methods of inquiry relating social constructionism to feminist topics are introduced. Each chapter highlights different topics of special concern within gender studies, especially the psychology of women. The first chapter outlines the purposes of the book and positions social constructionism in relation to the more traditional "feminist psychologies" empiricist and feminist standpoint. Given the trend toward social constructionism, [the author thinks] the broad audience of people doing gender work will be interested in becoming familiar with this approach to the field. The second and third chapters are focused on narrative methods as a means for studying gender differences in popular autobiographies. The discussions center on differences in stories of achievement, family, love, and embodiment. Quotations from well-known personalities, such as Donald Trump and Martina Navratilova, enrich the text. The fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters involve issues of menopause with a focus group methodology, a historical look at the "male gaze" as it is poised on the Naked Maja painting by Goya, and how relationships function within imaginal conversations. The two final chapters in the book are exemplars of a recent innovation in the field called performative psychology. One monologue is about aging in contemporary society and the other is a feminist critique of aspects of postmodernism itself. The book draws from the central tenets of postmodern inquiry, as played out in the positive framework of social constructionism. Emphasized are reflexivity, the social basis of reality making, the breakdown of traditional narrative forms, the loss of objectivity as a scientific standard, and the possibilities for new forms of doing research. In this respect, the book is unique and serves to provide a point of view on an intriguing movement that is gaining momentum across the social sciences and humanities. It is hoped that this book might serve as a catalyst for further innovative work in psychology. This text encourages such moves by its own irreverence for traditions and its overt efforts to break down resistances to creativity in the field. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 27
Page 1
... critiques of sci- ence that had been converging on psychology since the revival of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1970 ? What if one tried to reconfigure psy- chology so that the arguments that created the " crisis ...
... critiques of sci- ence that had been converging on psychology since the revival of Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions in 1970 ? What if one tried to reconfigure psy- chology so that the arguments that created the " crisis ...
Page 2
... critique and the politics of femi- nism — a way that took seriously the exhortations both to leave certain practices behind and to enhance the agendas of feminism . For the feminist critiques , I was indebted to many feminist scholars ...
... critique and the politics of femi- nism — a way that took seriously the exhortations both to leave certain practices behind and to enhance the agendas of feminism . For the feminist critiques , I was indebted to many feminist scholars ...
Page 3
... critique and reassessment was focused on the issue of values . Traditional science had made claims to a stance of value neutrality . Somehow , during the conduct of science , personal values were to be left aside to keep the enterprise ...
... critique and reassessment was focused on the issue of values . Traditional science had made claims to a stance of value neutrality . Somehow , during the conduct of science , personal values were to be left aside to keep the enterprise ...
Page 4
... critique of social science supports the view that since interest - free knowledge is logically impossible , we should feel free to substitute explicit inter- ests for implicit ones . Feminism challenges us to articulate our values and ...
... critique of social science supports the view that since interest - free knowledge is logically impossible , we should feel free to substitute explicit inter- ests for implicit ones . Feminism challenges us to articulate our values and ...
Page 6
... critiques of the field and the search for alternatives have been taken up by a diversity of writers , there may be some question as to why I describe these alternative figurations of doing psychology as feminist . Could they as well be ...
... critiques of the field and the search for alternatives have been taken up by a diversity of writers , there may be some question as to why I describe these alternative figurations of doing psychology as feminist . Could they as well be ...
Contents
1 | |
9 | |
Pieces of a Dream | 52 |
Bodies under Construction | 72 |
A Dialogue | 89 |
Opening Inquiry on Imaginal Relationships | 122 |
Sightes for Controversy | 145 |
Whys and Whereabouts | 167 |
Cavorting With Carnival Knowledge | 172 |
A Feminist EndGame | 181 |
Invitations to Commence | 193 |
References | 195 |
Index | 221 |
About the Author | 229 |
Other editions - View all
Feminist Reconstructions in Psychology: Narrative, Gender, and Performance Mary Gergen No preview available - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
activity analysis aspects autobiography become Beverly Sills body career challenge chapter Chuck Yeager conversation create critical critique cultural deconstruction described differences discourse discussion diverse Donna Haraway embodied emotional emphasize example experience feel female feminism feminist empiricists feminist psychology feminist standpoint position forms gender gender identity goal Goya identity imaginal dialogues imagined interactions important individual language linguistic lives M. M. Gergen male Manstory Martina Navratilova meaning menopause methods monomyth Naked Maja narrative nature Nien Cheng notion nude one's painting participants performative psychology perspective play political possible postmodern practices Psychology of Women question reality relations respondents scientific scientists Second Woman sense sexual social construction social constructionism social constructionist social ghosts social psychology stories suggests Sydney Biddle Barrows talk tell theorists theory tion topic traditional University Press voices Women Quarterly words writing Yeager York