Tropic Constructions of the Self

Abstract

used in the construction of the self in the human sciences, in the humanities, and in culture and the political and social context within which the specific strategies arise and are maintained. Three specific tropic strategies are identified – reductionist, structuralist, humanist/anti-humanist. These are shown to rely upon three of the master tropes identified by Kenneth Burke. Two specific contextual factors are shown to nurture the use of one or another tropic strategy. One of these is the overarching historic trend of the disembeddedness of the world. The other factor consists of the lived social realities within bureaucratic and institutional settings. It is argued that there are many forces promoting reductionist strategies, including the overall disembedding of the world, however many of these forces also foster competing and contradictory strategies. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2010 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]