Allen, S. E.2025. “General Social Theory or Resistant Knowledge Project?: The Public Life of Social Constructionism and Its Implications for Liberation Sociology.” Sociological Forum40, no. S1: S29–S37. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.70015.

This paper explores contemporary conceptualizations of social constructionism. I specifically address three queries: (1) What is social constructionism? (2) How have understandings of social constructionism evolved as the concept has diffused into the public sphere? And, (3) In what ways does social constructionism’s public life impact liberation sociology in praxis? I ultimately argue that social constructionism, as a theory and framework, draws attention to the significant ways one’s standpoint epistemology influences knowledge construction and, as a result, has the radical potential to destabilize social systems and hierarchies by legitimizing socially situated viewpoints, especially those from oppressed and marginalized communities. Furthermore, I discuss how this framing shifts social constructionism from merely a general social theory to a resistant knowledge project to explain why it has faced challenges in the form of reductionism and repression. I conclude by acknowledging the continued utility of social constructionism moving forward, especially with regard to cultivating a liberation sociology.