Argumentative Interactions and the Social Construction of Knowledge

2009 ◽  
pp. 127-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Baker
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Construction Of Knowledge

‘Civil skepticism’ and the social construction of knowledge: A case in dendroclimatology

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 821-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meritxell Ramírez-i-Ollé
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Blue Intensity

Early Science and Technology Studies (STS) scholars recognized that the social construction of knowledge depends on skepticism’s parasitic relationship to background expectations and trust. Subsequent generations have paid less empirical attention to skepticism in science and its relationship with trust. I seek to rehabilitate skepticism in STS – particularly, Merton’s view of skepticism as a scientific norm sustained by trust among status peers – with a study of what I call ‘civil skepticism’. The empirical grounding is a case in contemporary dendroclimatology and the development of a method (‘Blue Intensity’) for generating knowledge about climate change from trees. I present a sequence of four instances of civil skepticism involved in making Blue Intensity more resistant to critique, and hence credible (in laboratory experiments, workshops, conferences, and peer-review of articles). These skeptical interactions depended upon maintaining communal notions of civility among an increasingly extended network of mutually trusted peers through a variety of means: by making Blue Intensity complementary to existing methods used to study a diverse natural world (tree-ring patterns) and by contributing to a shared professional goal (the study of global climate change). I conclude with a sociological theory about the role of civil skepticism in constituting knowledge-claims of greater generality and relevance.

Learning in Discussion Forums

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Don Davis ◽  
Vittorio Marone
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Online Discussion ◽  
Game Studies ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Affinity Spaces ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Construction Of Knowledge ◽  
Gaming Communities

In the learning sciences and game studies communities, there has been an increasing interest in the potential of game-related “paratexts” and “surrounds” in supporting learning, such as online discussion forums and gaming affinity spaces. While there have been studies identifying how learning occurs in such communities, little research has been done on learning at the aggregate level. This study examined the social construction of knowledge in two sections of the discussion forums in the TUG (“The Untitled Game”) gaming affinity space. Findings suggest that game-like prompts and sections in online discussion forums can spur higher level forms of interaction and learning and can have implications for the design of gaming communities in which the social construction of knowledge is a desired outcome.

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