The Bumblebee Flies Anyway: the Success of Contextual Constructionism

Abstract

Although Spector and Kitsuse’s Constructing Social Problems (CSP) is often credited with launching constructionist theory, this obscures the contributions of other sociologists pursuing parallel lines of research. CSP’s advocacy of a strict constructionist position has largely been ignored by constructionist researchers. Although some conflist-oriented socioogists argue that it is time to move beyond constructionism, it remains the best-developed theory of social problems. At the same time, it is necessary to develop the theory in new directions, particularly by synthesizing case studies.