This article highlights two major trends in the social sciences: an increasing concern with inequality and a growing interest in interpretive variability and the creation of meaning. Despite these trends, not enough research treats inequality itself as a meaning that is socially constructed. The article proposes a list of ten ideas useful for guiding research on inequality in a more consistently constructionist direction. Then it introduces the five articles that compose this special issue on social constructionism and social inequality, articles that contribute to the constructionist agenda in varied ways.
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Bartley, M.2003. Health inequality: An introduction to concepts, theories, and methods.
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Best, J.1993. But seriously folks: The limitations of the strict constructionist interpretation of social problems. In Reconsidering social constructionism: Debates in social problems theory, ed. J. A. Holstein and G. Miller, 129-147. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
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Best, J.1999. Random violence: How we talk about new crimes and new victims. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
8.
Best, J.2000. The apparently innocuous “just,” the Law of Levity, and the social problems of social construction. In Perspectives on social problems. vol. 12, ed. J. A. Holstein and G. Miller, 3-14. Stamford, CT: JAI Press.
9.
Best, J.. 2003. Social problems. In Handbook of symbolic interactionism, ed. L. T. Reynolds and N. J. Herman-Kinney, 981-996. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
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Best, J.. 2004. Why don’t they listen to us? Fashion notes on the imperial wardrobe. Social Problems51:154-160.
Blumer, H.. 1971. Social problems as collective behavior. Social Problems18:298-306.
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Chang, J. H-Y.2000. Symbolic interaction and transformation of class structure: The case of China. Symbolic Interaction23:223-251.
14.
Charmaz, K.2005. Grounded theory in the 21st century: Applications for advancing social justice studies. In The Sage handbook of qualitative research, ed. N. K. Denzin and I. S. Lincoln, 507-535. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
15.
Coleman, M. T.1988. The division of household labor: Suggestions for future empirical consideration and theoretical development. Journal of Family Issues9:132-148.
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Collins, R.2000. Situational stratification: A micro-macro theory of inequality. Sociological Theory18:17-43.
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Erera, P. I.2002. Family diversity: Continuity and change in the contemporary family. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
18.
Foster, J.1999. The vulnerable planet: A short economic history of the environment. New York: Monthly Review.
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Garfinkel, H.1967. Studies in ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
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Gubrium, J. F.. 1997. The new language of qualitative method. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Gubrium, J. F.. 2001. Institutional selves: Troubled identities in a postmodern world. New York: Oxford.
24.
Gusfield, J. R.1984. On the side: Practical action and social constructivism in social problems theory. In Studies in the sociology of social problems, ed. J. W. Schneider and J. I. Kitsuse, 31-51. Noorwood, NJ: Ablex.
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Hagan, J., and R. D. Peterson, eds. 1995. Crime and inequality. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
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Harris, S. R.2000a. Meanings and measurements of equality in marriage: A study of the social construction of equality. In Perspectives on social problems. vol. 12, ed. J. A. Holstein and G. Miller, 111-145. Stamford, CT: JAI Press.
27.
Harris, S. R.. 2000b. The social construction of equality in everyday life. Human Studies23: 371-393.
28.
Harris, S. R.. 2001. What can interactionism contribute to the study of inequality? The case of marriage and beyond. Symbolic Interaction24:455-480.
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Harris, S. R.. 2003a. Critiquing and expanding the sociology of inequality: Comparing functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives. Quarterly Journal of Ideology25:1-21.
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Harris, S. R.. 2003b. Studying equality/inequality: Naturalist and constructionist approaches to equality in marriage. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography32:200-232.
31.
Harris, S. R.. 2004. Challenging the conventional wisdom: Recent proposals for the interpretive study of inequality. Human Studies27:113-136.
32.
Harris, S. R.. 2006. The meanings of marital equality. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
33.
Holstein, J. A., and J. F. Gubrium. 2000. The self we live by: Narrative identity in a postmodern world. New York: Oxford.
34.
Holstein, J. A.. 2003. A constructionist analytics for social problems. In Challenges and choices: Constructionist perspectives on social problems, ed. J. A. Holstein and G. Miller, 187-208. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
35.
Holstein, J. A.. 2005. Interpretive practice and social action. In The Sage handbook of qualitative research, ed. N. K. Denzin and I. S. Lincoln, 483-505. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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Holstein, J. A., and G. Miller. 1990. Rethinking victimization: An interactional approach to victimology. Symbolic Interaction13:103-122.
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Holstein, J. A.. 2003. Social constructionism and social problems work. In Challenges and choices: Constructionist perspectives on social problems, 70-91. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
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Kranichfeld, M. L.1987. Rethinking family power. Journal of Family Issues8:42-56.
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Lamont, M., and V. Molnar. 2002. The study of symbolic boundaries in the social sciences. Annual Review of Sociology28:167-195.
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Lareau, A.2002. Invisible inequality: Social class and childrearing in black and white families. American Sociological Review67:747-776.
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Loseke, D. R.1993. Constructing conditions, people, morality, and emotion: Expanding the agenda of constructionism. In Constructionist controversies: Issues in social problems theory, ed. G. Miller and J. A. Holstein, 207-216. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
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Loseke, D. R.. 1999. Thinking about social problems: An introduction to constructionist perspectives. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
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Maines, D. R., and M. J. McCallion. 2000. Urban inequality and the possibilities of church-based intervention. In Studies in symbolic interaction. vol. 3, ed. N. K. Denzin, 43-53. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
44.
Mehan, H.1992. Understanding inequality in schools: The contribution of interpretive studies. Sociology of Education65:1-20.
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O’Brien, R. M., and D. Jacobs. 1998. The determinants of deadly force: A structural analysis of police violence. American Journal of Sociology103:837-862.
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Pollner, M.1987. Mundane reason: Reality in everyday and sociological discourse. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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Pollner, M.. 1991. Left of ethnomethodology. American Sociological Review56:370-380.
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