This article introduces symbolic constructivism, a qualitative research approach that uses artlike, nonroutine portrayal (e.g., sculpture, photographs, drawings, dramatization, etc.) to elicit, challenge, and shift existing sense-making frameworks. Unlike art-based methods that rely on expert interpretation, symbolic constructivism stresses the development of intersubjective understanding; researcher and respondent interpretations interact to create multiple forms of meaning. After introducing the approach and discussing its connections to other informing frameworks (notably symbolist thought, constructivism, hermeneutics, art therapy, and visual sociology), some methodological guidelines are developed that revolve around the kinds and degrees of change sought by inquiring parties.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Altheide, D., & Johnson, J.M. (1994). Criteria for assessing interpretive validity in qualitative research In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 485-499). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
2.
Arnheim, R. (1986). New essays on the psychology of art.Berkeley: University of California Press.
3.
Ball, M., & Smith, G. (1992). Analyzing visual data.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
4.
Barry, D. (1994). Making the invisible visible: Using analogically-based methods to surface the organizational unconscious In D. P. Moore (Ed.), The academy of management best paper proceedings (pp. 192-196). Madison, WI: Omnipress.
5.
Becker, H. (1982). Art worlds.Berkeley : University of California Press.
6.
Berger, J., & Mohr, J. (1989). Another way of telling.Cambridge, UK: Granta.
7.
Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise on the sociology of knowledge.New York: Doubleday.
8.
Bleicher, J. (1980). Contemporary hermeneutics: Hermeneutics as method, philosophy, and critique.London: Routledge.
9.
Burns, R.C. (1982). Self-growth m families: Kinetic family drawing (K-F-D) research and application.New York: Brunner/Mazel .
10.
Clifford, J. (1988). The predicament of culture: Twentieth century ethnography, literature, and art.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
11.
Clifford, J., & Marcus, G. (Eds.). (1986). Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography.Berkeley : University of California Press.
12.
Collier, J., & Collier, M. (1986). Visual anthropology: Photography as a research method.Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
13.
Czarniawska-Joerges, B. (1995). Narration or science? Collapsing the division in organization studiesOrganization, 2(1), 11-33.
14.
Davanloo, H. (1988). The technique of unlocking the unconscious, part 1International Journal of Short-Term Psychotherapy , 3, 99-121.
15.
Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y (Eds.). (1994a). Handbook of qualitative research.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
16.
Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (1994b). Introduction: Entering the field of qualitative research In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp.1-17). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Derrida, J. (1978). Writing and difference (A. Bass, TransChicago: University of Chicago Press.
18.
de Saussure, F. (1974). Course in general linguisticsLondon: Fontana/Collins.
19.
Dexter, L.A. (1970). Elite and specialized interviewingEvanston, IL: Northwestern University Press .
20.
Diamond, M.A. (1993). The unconscious life of organizations: Interpreting organizational identityLondon: Quorum.
21.
Edwards, B. (1986). Drawing on the artist withinNew York: Fireside.
22.
Ehrenzweig, A. (1967). The hidden order of artLondon: Paladin.
23.
Eisner, E. (1991). The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practices.New York : Macmillan.
24.
Fine, M. (1994). Working the hyphens: Reinventing self and other in qualitative research In N. Denzin & Y Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 70-82). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
Freedman, J., & Combs, G. (1996). Narrative therapy: The social construction of preferred realities.New York: W. W. Norton.
26.
Furth, G.M. (1988). The secret world of drawingsBoston: Sigo.
27.
Gadamer, H.G. (1975). Truth and method (G. Burden & J. Cumming, Trans.). New York: Seabury .
28.
Gagliardi, P. (1990). Artifacts as pathways and remains of organizational life In P. Gagliardi (Ed.), Symbols and artifacts: Views of the corporate landscape (pp. 3-38). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
29.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretations of cultures: Selected essays.New York: Basic Books.
30.
Geertz, C. (1980). Blurred genres: The refiguration of social thoughtThe American Scholar, 49(2), 165-179.
31.
Geertz, C. (1983). Local knowledge: Further essays in interpretive anthropology.New York: Basic Books.
32.
Geertz, C. (1988). Works and lives: The anthropologist as author.Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
33.
Gentner, D. (1983). Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogyCognitive Science, 7,155-170.
34.
Gergen, K.J. (1985). The social constructionist movement in modem psychologyAmerican Psychologist, 40, 266-275.
35.
Gherardi, S. (1995). When will he say: "Today the plates are soft"? The management of ambiguity and situated decision-makingStudies in Cultures, Organizations, and Societies,1(1), 9-27.
36.
Gilligan, S., & Price, R. (1993). Therapeutic conversations.New York: W. W. Norton.
37.
Gioia, D., Thomas, J., Clark, S., & Chittipeddi, K. (1994). Symbolism and strategic change in academia: The dynamics of sensemaking and influenceOrganization Science, 5, 363-383.
38.
Glaser, B.G. (1978). Theoretical sensitivityMill Valley, CA: Sociology Press.
39.
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategtes for qualitative research.Chicago: Aldine.
40.
Goodman, N., & Elgin, C. (1988). Reconceptions m philosophy and other arts and sciences.Indianapolis, IN: Hackett.
41.
Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (1989). Fourth generation evaluationNewbury Park, CA: Sage.
42.
Hannah, B. (1981). Encounters with the soul: Active imagination as developed by C. G. Jung/Barbara Hannah.Santa Monica, CA: Sigo.
43.
Harper, D. (1986). Meaning and work: A study in photo-elicitationCurrent Sociology, 34(3), 24-46.
44.
Harper, D. (1994). On the authority of image: Visual methods at the crossroads In N. Denzin & Y Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 403-412). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
45.
Haskell, R.E. (1991). An analogical methodology for analysis and validation of anomalous cognitive and linguistic operations in small group (fantasy theme) reportsSmall Group Research, 22, 443-474.
46.
Hatch, M. (1993). The dynamics of organizational cultureThe Academy of Management Review, 18, 657-693.
47.
Hazen, M.A. (1993). Towards polyphonic organizationJournal of Organizational Change Management, 6(5),15-27.
48.
Heidegger, M. (1971). Poetry, language, thought (A. Hofstadter, TransNew York: Harper & Row .
49.
Heidegger, M. (1977). The question concerning technology and other essays.New York: Harper & Row.
50.
Hiley, D., Bohman, J., & Shusterman, R. (Eds.). (1991). The interpretive turn: Philosophy, science, culture.Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
51.
Jung, C.G. (1993). The basic writings of C. G. Jung (V. de Laszlo, Ed.). New York: Modern Library. (Original work published 1959)
52.
Kalff, D.M. (1980). Sandplay: A psychotherapeutic approach to the psyche.Santa Monica, CA: Sigo.
53.
Kallinikos, J. (1995). The architecture of the invisible: Technology is representationOrganization, 2(1),117-140.
54.
Kets de Vries, M. (Ed.). (1991). Organizations on the couch: Clinical perspectives on organizational behavior and change.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
55.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1980). Metaphors we live by.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
56.
Landgarten, H.B. (1981). Clinical art therapy: A comprehensive guideNew York: Brunner/Mazel .
57.
Landgarten, H.B. (1993). Magazine photo collage: A multicultural assessment and treatment technique.New York: Brunner/Mazel .
58.
Lemaire, A. (1977). Jacques LacanLondon : Routledge & Kegan Paul.
59.
Lincoln, Y. (1985). The substance of the emergent paradigm: Implications for researchers In Y. Lincoln (Ed.), Organizational theory and inquiry: The paradigm revolution (pp. 137-157). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
60.
Lincoln, Y., & Denzin, N. (1994). The fifth moment In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 575-586). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
61.
Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E.G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry.Beverley Hills, CA: Sage.
62.
Lozanov, G. (1978). Suggestology and outlines of suggestopedy (M. Hall-Pozharlieva & K. Pashmakova, Trans.). New York: Gordon and Breach.
63.
Madison, G.B. (1990). The hermeneutics of postmodernity: Figures and themes.Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
64.
Masserick, F. (1981). The interviewing process re-examined In P. Reason & J. Rowan (Eds.), Human inquiry: A sourcebook of new paradigm research.New York: Wiley.
65.
Mattoon, M.A. (1978). Understanding dreams.Dallas, TX: Spring Publications.
66.
Mitchell, R., & Friedman, H. (1994). Sandplay: Past, present, and future.London: Routledge, 1994.
67.
Morgan, G. (1986). Images of organizationBeverly Hills, CA: Sage.
68.
Morgan, G. (1993). Imaginization: The art of creative management.Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
69.
Morgan, G., Frost, P.J., & Pondy, L.R. (1983). Organizational Symbolism In L. Pondy, P. Frost, G. Morgan, & T. Dandridge (Eds.), Organizational symbolism (pp. 3-35). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
70.
Obeyesekere, G. (1990). The work of culture: Symbolic transformation m psychoanalysis and anthropology.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
71.
Ortner, S. (1973). On key symbolsAmerican Anthropologist , 75,1338-1346.
72.
Oster, G.D., & Gould, P. (1987). Using drawings m assessment and therapy: A guide for mental health professionals.New York: Brunner/Mazel .
73.
Palmer, R.E. (1969). Hermeneutics: Interpretation theory m Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer.Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press.
74.
Parker, M. (1990). Creating shared vision.Clarendon Hills, IL: Dialog International.
75.
Peirce, C. (1940). The philosophy of Peirce: Selected writings (J. Buchler, Ed.). New York : Harcourt Brace.
76.
Polyani, M. (1966). The tacit dimension.Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
77.
Punch, M. (1994). Politics and ethics in qualitative research In N. Denzm & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 83-97). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
78.
Reason, P. (1994). Three approaches to participative inquiry In N. Denzin & Y Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 324-339). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
79.
Reason, P., & Hawkins, P. (1988). Storytelling as inquiry In P. Reason (Ed.), Human inquiry in action: Developments m new paradigm research (pp. 79-101). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
80.
Richardson, L. (1994). Writing: A method of inquiry In N. Denzm & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 516-529). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
81.
Ricoeur, P. (1976). Interpretation theory: Discourse and the surplus of meaningFort Worth: Texas Christian University Press.
82.
Rosaldo, R. (1989). Culture and truth: The remaking of social analysis.Boston: Beacon.
83.
Rosenau, P.M. (1992). Post-modernism and the social sciences: Insights, inroads, and intrusionsPrinceton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
84.
Ryce-Menuhin, J. (1992). Jungian sandplay: The wonderful therapy.London: Routledge.
85.
Schaef, A.W., & Fassel, D. (1988). The addictive organization.New York: Harper Collins.
86.
Schaverien, J. (1992). The revealing image: Analytical art psychotherapy in theory and practice.London: Tavistock/Routledge.
87.
Schwandt, T.A. (1994). Constructivist, interpretivist approaches to human inquiry In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp.118-137). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
88.
Simon, R.M. (1992). The symbolism of style. London: Routledge.
89.
Strati, A. (1992). Aesthetic understanding of organizational lifeAcademy of Management Review, 17, 568-581.
90.
Tsoukas, H. (1993). Analogical reasoning and knowledge generation in organization theoryOrganization Studies , 14, 323-346.
91.
Turner, B. (1992). The symbolic understanding of organizations In M. Reed & M. Hughes (Eds.), New directions in organization theory and analysis (pp. 46-66). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
92.
Turner, V. (1982). From ritual to theater: The human seriousness of play.New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications.
93.
Van Maanen, J. (1988). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
94.
Weaver, R. (1973). The old wise woman: A study of active imaginationNew York: Putnam.
95.
Weiser, J. (1993). Phototherapy techniques: Exploring the secrets of personal snapshots and family albums.San Francisco : Jossey-Bass.
96.
White, D., & Epston, M. (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends.New York: W. W. Norton.
97.
Winnicott, D.W. (1965). The maturational process and the facilitating environment.London: Hogarth .
98.
Zuboff, S. (1988). In the age of the smart machines: The future of work and power.New York: Basic Books.
