THEME

The Social Representations theory which was formulated by Serge Moscovici in 1961 has grown in both the aspect of theory as well as implementation. This development has not only occurred in Europe. In the last twenty years it has also reached South America and North America. And within the last few years new seeds have also been spreading out in Australia, Asia and Africa.

Since its beginning, the Social Representation theory was meant to break the boundaries of Social Psychology which is purely inspired by the individualistic approach. For that purpose, this theory offers an integration of the social and cultural dimensions by emphasizing common sense and understandings of socially contextualized knowledge, which mark the footprints of social thinking within the local context of time and space, and which are to be translated into social communication tools as a frame to understand the social phenomenon in any place. At this level, the Social Representations theory has been considered to be one of the main paradigms that form postmodern thought, as an alternative for analyzing social lives which generally tend to be reductionist. (Collier, Minton, Reynolds, 1991).

Social Representations itself also refers to objects of meaning that we use or share in our social life. The meanings attached to those objects are processed together with other members of any society, without neglecting its social and cultural implication. The methodology developed in Social Representation studies allows this theory to emphasize the importance of respecting all the understandings and perspectives in the society observed, so the researcher can comprehend the logic and meaning that is employed in the local community.

The Social Representations approach, therefore, is also viewed as an important source for the study of local knowledge and logical formulations related to a choice that is suitable to each cultural context in its complexity, including its epistemology and ontological status that develops along with it. The Social Representations approach also makes it possible to have a bargaining position to refuse the enforcement of a certain logic under the justification of universal thinking, which would eventually produce a principal single truth and the refusal of diversity of thought. Within this framework, then, Social Representations facilitates dialogue about knowledge in this global era, which would eventually provide an intellectual space for respecting cultural differences.

The possibility of questioning the universal and the local, therefore, bonds the Social Representations theory with the intellectual debates in Asia. The globalization phenomenon and questions around the chances to create an Asian space in a global phenomenon have become the hottest issues, considering that Asia as an economic & political force is the most receptive to the global stream, and at the same time is an unlimited space for social and cultural discussion as well.

The debates that emerges in social studies in Asia, such as psychology, anthropology, sociology, economy, and politics, for instance, within the last few years cannot be separated from matters that might arise, whether they will be conflicts or convergences, between global waves, whose sources are global financial forces, and local roots, which always assume diverseness in cultures or even in languages. Several main themes in congresses on social studies in Asia, such as Social Psychology, for instance, bring up themes like Globalization, the search for an Asian identity, and the place of social psychology in its global context.

The Social Representations theory indeed was not designed to answer these issues, the convergence of global phenomena and local forces. But since the theory’s scope is able to review the issues of locality of thinking through cultural aspects, daily life practices, understanding of common-sense and language, this theory offers possibilities to social studies to find a space of locality and develop a perspective of knowledge outside the framework of modern science.

Considering this tendency and to invite the dialogues between Europe - South America - Asia – Australia and Canada, then the 9th International Conference on Social Representations is organized around the central theme: ‘Alternative Productions of Knowledge and Social Representations’.

This central theme will provide a forum of debates on the following sub-themes:
• Political-Economy, the Diversity of Knowledge and Social Representations
• History, Culture, the Possibility of Knowledge and Social Representations
• The Epistemology of Every day’s Life, Globalization, and Social Representations
• Integrating Scientific and Non-Scientific Knowledge, and Social Representations
• Nature, History, God(s), the Emergence and Complexity of Social Representations
• Nature, Environmental Wisdoms and Social Representations
• History, Oral Tradition, Production of Knowledge and Social Representations
• Oriental Philosophy, Religious Studies and Social Representations
• History, Wisdom and Social Representations
• Formal and Non-formal Education, Wisdom, and Social Representations
• Health, Healing, Spirituality and Social Representations
• Beauty, Truth, Goodness and Social Representations
• Gender, Subjective Identity and Social Representations
• Culture, Society and Social Representations
• Science, Technology and Social Representations
• Media, Communication, and Social Representations
• Science, Imagination and Social Representations

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Collier, G. Minton, H.L., Reynods, G. 1991. Current Thought in American Social Psychology. New York. Oxford University Press.