 Structuralism is a theoretical positioning, that

observable social phenomena are the products of

unobservable social structures, and that these hidden
structures underlie the apparent randomness of things
like cultures , languages, etc.

 A movement developed in Europe from the early to

mid-20th century. It argues that human culture may be
understood by means of a structure modeled on
language that differs from concrete reality and abstract
ideas between both.
 Post structuralism was introduced by French philosopher
Jacques Derrida in 1966.
 emphasizes the importance of both the individual and
historical/cultural contexts in creating reality.
 argues that to understand an object (e.g., a text), it is necessary
to study both the object itself and the systems of knowledge
that produced the object
 Problematizes the reliability or stability of meaning ,placing
language in a place where it slides between the signifier
(word),signified (concept) and reference (thing).
 Constructivists argue that it is language that allows us
to have a conscious experience of what we conceive of as
reality. Language arises from socio-cultural contexts, one
aspect of which is religious traditions.
 It is best described by the Confucius theory “I hear and I
forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand”.
 Some of the scholars includes Jerome Bruner, Jean
Piaget, lev vygotsky, john Dewey .
 Structuralism - studies the underlying structure of all the
things that human do , think , perceive and feel. Notes that
much of our imaginative world is structured of and
structured by binary opposition e.g.. hot/cold
culture/nature etc. sees itself as a science of human kind
 Post-structuralism - offers a way of studying how knowledge
is produced and critiques structuralist premises. It argues
that because history and culture condition the study of
underlying structures, both are subject to biases and
misinterpretations.
 Constructivism - is the recognition that reality is a product
of human intelligence, interacting with experience in the
real world. Believes that reality exists as a construct of the
mind
 Learning is an active process and the learner uses sensory
input and constructs a meaning out of it.
 People learn to learn as they learn
 Learning is a social activity
 Motivation is a key component in learning
 Learning involves language
 One needs knowledge to learn
 Writers whose work is often characterized as post-
structuralist include Jacques Derrida, Michel
Foucault, Gilles Deleuze,Judith Butler, Jacques
Lacan, Jean Baudrillard, and Julia Kristeva, Roland
Barthes, Levi Strauss.
 According to Wendt;
 Constructivism makes the following core claims:
 the key structures in the states system are
intersubjective rather than material
 state identities and interests are constructed by
social structures, rather than given exogenously to
the system by human nature.
poststructuralists concentrate constructivists are interested in
on performativity, written the normativity of spoken words.
texts and discourse
For constructivists,
for poststructuralists performativity depends on the
language itself is the words spoken by the agents.
performance.

poststructuralism highlights constructivist language will

the presence of emphasize the importance of
deconstructive play. reconstructive work.
 Social facts are the essence of constructivism. It
explores how identities, actions and human suffering
are constructed through a process of interaction
while;
 poststructuralism specifically focuses on the ways
language constructs reality and on the arbitrariness of
the links between the two.
The focus of both constructivists and poststructuralists
is the human perception of language and knowledge;
now is poststructuralism another version of
constructivism?
… I’d say yes, it’s just a branch from the same tree, it is
another theory that attempts to restructure or change
our understanding of the relations between human
beings , their culture of understanding and the world.
 Assister, A. (1984) ‘Althusser and structuralism’ (British Journal of Sociology,
Vol.35:2, June 1984, pp.272-296)
 Deleuze, G. (2002) ‘How Do We Recognize Structuralism?’ (in Taormina, M.
(ed.) (2004) Desert Islands and Other Texts, 1953-1974, pp.170-192)
 Attridge, Derek, Geoff Bennington, and Robert Young, eds. Post-Structuralism
and the Question of History. Cambridge,UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
 Culler, Jonathan D. On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism after
Structuralism. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2007.
 Derrida, Jacques. Margins of Philosophy. Bass. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1985.
 (Davis and Schliefer 1989, pp. 205-213; Eagleton 1983, pp. 135-145; Lentricchia,
pp. 157-210; Newton 1988, p. 171
 The Promise of Constructivism in International Relations Theory,
International Security, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Summer, 1998), p.171.
 Joan Scott, "Deconstructing Equality-versus-Difference: Or, the Uses of
Poststructuralist Theory for Feminism," Feminist Studies 14/1 (1988): 32-50.
 Madan Sarup, Introductory Guide to Post-Structuralism and
Postmodernism (Atlanta: University of Georgia Press, 1993).