I explore the historical antecedents of contextual constructionism--the theoretical structure employed in this essay--which is rooted in the development of symbolic interactionism and labelling theory. I also devote attention to an overview of selected interactionist, labelling, conflict, and contextual constructionist accounts of the 'illicit drug' issue. I illustrate how early interactionist and more recent contextual constructionist studies have demonstrated that claims-making against 'illicit drugs' are typically based on soft or non-existent evidence, and that such claims-makers have engaged in moral crusades against 'illicit drugs', not to address 'objective' harmful conditions, but rather for bureaucratic interests and to promote certain moral positions. I examine the methodological approach used by Goldhagen (1996) in his provocative account of the causes underlying the nature and magnitude of the Holocaust. This quasi-constructionist analysis clearly exemplifies the power of symbolic communication in the social construction of definitions of problematic conditions and the development of intervention strategies. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/4252 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Hicks, David C. |
| Contributors | Petrunik, Michael G., |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 231 p. |
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