ABSTRACT
Keller argues for a sociology of knowledge-based approach to the discursive construction of realities. He uses the anniversary event of the “50 years of Social Construction book” in order to show how it can be considered an example of discursive construction in itself, despite some (earlier) objections towards the concept of “discourse” in the sociology of knowledge tradition. Keller therefore gives evidence of the use of “discourse” in pragmatist and social-phenomenological thinking in sociology. He argues that referring to universes or orders of discourse in a “beyond linguistics” sense can be traced far back in the history of the social sciences, to John Dewey, George Herbert Mead, Robert E. Park and Alfred Schütz. Michel Foucault’s ideas about discourse are closer to this tradition then it seemed at first glance. As Keller states “discourse” or “discursive construction” covers a more reduced subject than the basic ideas of The Social Construction of Reality. Moreover, he strongly opposes the arguments made by some colleagues in discourse theory research that “everything is discourse,” or that there is nothing outside of discourse. Instead, he considers discourses to be particular processes or forms of knowledge-making and unmaking, of objectifying and de-objectifying realities. The sociology of knowledge approach to discourse that he argues for covers a particular field of communicative construction and social constructivism. “Communicative construction,” according to Keller’s usage, is a more general term covering quite disparate communicative events. Discursive construction is what this book is performing here and now, and it is what enabled Berger and Luckmann’s work (1966/1967) to travel from the 1960s into the present.
