SOC239H5 Study Guide - Final Guide: Social Constructionism, Erving Goffman
Document Summary
Some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning- which is not directly derived from nature of the condition- that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of illness. All illnesses are socially constructed at the experimental level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness. Medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties. A social constructionist approach to illness is rooted in the widely recognized conceptual distinction between disease (the biological condition) and illness (the social meaning of the condition). Social constructionists emphasize how the meaning and experience of illness is shaped by cultural and social systems. According to goffman and other symbolic interactionists, individuals actively participate in the construction of their own social worlds, including the construction of selfhood, via ongoing social interaction.
