Niels Brimnes:
Pragmatic Constructivism – Reflections on constructivism and the study of cultural encounters

This article presents the constructivist position through an interpretation of a few central works published since the early 1980s. The first two sections briefly demonstrate how identity and difference has come to be viewed as cultural constructs. Then two major problems within the constructivist position are identified. First, how historical constructions of reality relate to the notion of 'true' representations. Second, if and how historical constructions can be understood as limited by external features. Finally, using material from an early colonial South Indian context, an attempt is made to demonstrate how a constructivist approach can be fruitfully employed in historical research, without entirely abandoning references to a social context.