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
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Page 7
... language games " with others and that from them I draw out a story that I relate on these pages . Because of these multi- ple coconstructions , of which I was only a part , what I am writing is not the truth about what happened ; at the ...
... language games " with others and that from them I draw out a story that I relate on these pages . Because of these multi- ple coconstructions , of which I was only a part , what I am writing is not the truth about what happened ; at the ...
Page 12
... language , such as metaphors and other figures of speech , which relied upon imaginary instead of factual realms ; depending upon logical reasoning to accurately draw conclusions from sense data ; avoiding emotional involvement with ...
... language , such as metaphors and other figures of speech , which relied upon imaginary instead of factual realms ; depending upon logical reasoning to accurately draw conclusions from sense data ; avoiding emotional involvement with ...
Page 13
... language by altering or erasing poetic verses that were considered too obscure in their meaning . Early 20th - century management theorists advocated metaphors of machine functioning to prescribe more efficient human productivity on ...
... language by altering or erasing poetic verses that were considered too obscure in their meaning . Early 20th - century management theorists advocated metaphors of machine functioning to prescribe more efficient human productivity on ...
Page 15
... language in manuscripts submitted for publication to professional journals published by the American Psychological Association . This guideline is now widespread in all forms of publications in the field and in other professions ...
... language in manuscripts submitted for publication to professional journals published by the American Psychological Association . This guideline is now widespread in all forms of publications in the field and in other professions ...
Page 25
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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