Kara Kaufman

DISSERTATION TITLE:

Crossroad Moments with my Self: Conversation, Perspective, and Choice Through Social Constructionism

This dissertation is a result of an encounter with a quote from a book on social construction theory that suggested that the individual, autonomous self is dead (Burr, 2003, p.23). This statement created a personal dissonance that I could not ignore. I felt that statement was incorrect because of my understanding of and experience with my Self. At the beginning of this project I took the stance that I needed to defend the existence of the Self within social construction theory. By the end of this project my perspective shifted and my thinking transformed through the application of relational and dialogic ideas and practices.