CompFAQs from CompPile | WritingCenters-Mainstreaming / Social Constructionist Paradigm browse

Social ConstructionistTheory and the Maintreamed Student

Writing as a Social Process

In recent years, many in composition studies have begun to explore the notion that the act of writing is based on social activity. That is, that writing, and all that it entails, is not done in isolation, but rather is a social process that is comprised of many attributing factors such as the historical context, experiences of the writers and readers, social definitions, culture, and language which all work together to construct meaning. This view provides a unique opportunity for redefining the work of writing centers and showing the connection between basic writers and writing centers.

In her article, “Writing as a Social Process: A Theoretical Foundation for Writing Centers,” Lisa Ede articulates the writing center’s connection to social constructionist theory. She states, “I believe that the time is right for those of us who direct or work in writing centers to place our work in a rich theoretical context. And we don’t need to start from scratch: We can build not only on theories of collaborative learning, as articulated by Bruffe, Hawkins, and others, but on the work of these who have recently challenges us to view writing as a social, rather than a solitary and individual, process” (5). In a sense, writing becomes the expression of socially constructed meaning. That is, writing becomes an expression of the meaning of a social artifact—anything that has become an object or product used in society.

The meaning, context, association, and definitions of these social artifacts are constructed by the social group that uses them. Some social artifacts, like academic writing, become hegemonic as they are reified by the dominant culture which holds the power. These power-holders define what is acceptable and what is not according to a prescribed set of socially constructed values and standards—those who do not meet these standards are left in the margins.

Too often, it is the basic writers who are left residing in the subaltern spaces. The writing center reaches out to the “other” spaces and work to allow the social nature of the writing process to overpower the hegemonic forces that would stratify and resist basic writers’ inclusion in mainstream college courses. One way that writing centers employ social constructionist prinicples, such as writing as a social act, is through collaborative learning theory. Kenneeth Bruffee asserts that collaborative learning theory is the pedagological manifestation of writing as a social act (“Writing and Reading” 571).