Making sense of postmodern identities. A comparative investigation of social constructionists' methodological theories: Theory of coordinated management of meaning and rhetorical -responsive perspective

• Main Author: Pond, Irina K
• Language: EN
• Published: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst 2000
• Subjects: Communication
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9988832

The dissertation provides a comparative investigation of two Social Constructionist methodological perspectives, Theory of Coordinated Management of Meaning by Vernon E. Cronen and W. Barnett Pearce and Rhetorical-Responsive perspective by John Shotter. The emphasis of the investigation is on the methodological abilities of both perspectives to critically describe the way people identify themselves in their languaged social action, to enhance the public critical voice and to facilitate social change. The investigation is based on the case study that features communicative practices and activities of the Labour Party leadership during the 1992 General Election campaign as portrayed in a dramatic play by David Hare “The Absence of War”. ^