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Review Essay: Social Knowledge and Social Representations: Boon and Bane of Complex Integrative Concepts

University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland, beat.thommen{at}phbern.ch

Sandra Jovchelovitch claims to evaluate knowledge in reference to social contexts and functions. She develops a widespread social-psychological approach. Central in her conceptual framework is the construct of representation. Representations are the matter and substance of knowledge and situated at the intersection of self, social interactions and objective world. The excellence of the contribution consists in its integrative power. On the other hand the central concepts of knowledge and representation often remain ambiguous and inconsistent. Actual developments in constructivism and systems theory (e.g. the work of Niklas Luhmann) could offer a theoretical framework to capture the dialectic and dynamic relationship between the individual and the social.

Key Words: constructivism • culture • social context • social knowledge • social representations • systems theory

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