mass-communication-theory

INSTANT ACCESS
Symbolic Interactionism
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Rejects simple stimulus-response concep- 1. Gives too little recognition to power of social
tualizations of human behavior
institutions
2. Considers the social environment in which 2. In some contemporary articulations, grants
learning takes place
too much power to media content
3. Recognizes the complexity of human
existence
4. Foregrounds individuals’ and the
community’s roleinagency
5. Provides basis for many methodologies and
approaches to inquiry
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM
social
constructionism
School of social
theory that argues
that individuals’
power to oppose
or reconstruct
important social
institutions is
limited
social
construction
of reality
Theory that assumes
an ongoing
correspondence
of meaning because
people
share a common
sense about its
reality
Chapter 11 Media and Culture Theories: Meaning-Making in the Social World 323
What almost all theories classified as culture-centered have in common is an underlying
assumption that our experience of reality is an ongoing social construction in
which we have some responsibility, not something that is only sent, delivered, or
otherwise transmitted by some authority or elite. But although there is general
agreement that human communities construct the social world, there is disagreement
concerning the level of agency individual humans have in the processes by
which this world is constructed and maintained. We’ve seen that symbolic interactionists
are strong believers in the power of individuals to have a significant level of
control over culture and their social world. If culture is forged on a daily basis in
the millions of situations in which we all participate, there should be great potential
for cultural innovation and change. If nothing else, people make mistakes, and that
alone should lead to innovation.
Another school of social theory, social constructionism, questions the amount
of control individuals have over culture. Social constructionism argues that once
social institutions such as schools, churches, businesses, and military organizations
are constructed, individuals’ power to oppose or reconstruct these institutions is
limited. Its proponents see these institutions dominating the practice of culture on a
day-to-day basis.
This school of social theory is also known as the social construction of reality.
According to social constructionists, social institutions wield enormous power over
culture because they view the culture they propagate as having a reality beyond our
control. Here’s an example. Students are often told that when they graduate they
will get jobs in the real world. Implicit in this assertion is the assumption that college
life is somehow unreal whereas the world of work is real. But what does reality
mean in this context? Your daily life at college is not a fantasy world. There are
classes to attend and exams to take. But you do have quite a bit of control over
how you play your role as a student. You have the autonomy to decide what you
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