Sheila McNamee is an American academic known for her work in social constructionism

Social constructionism

Social constructionism and social constructivism are sociological theories of knowledge that consider how social phenomena or objects of consciousness develop in social contexts. A social construction is a concept or practice that is the construct of a particular group...

. She is a Professor of Communication at the University of New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...

 and a founder, Vice President and board member of the Taos Institute

Taos Institute

The Taos Institute is a non-profit educational organization, concerned with the social processes essential for the construction of reason, knowledge, and human value...

. Her work focuses on appreciative dialogic transformation within a variety of social and institutional contexts including psychotherapy, organizations, education, healthcare, and local communities. She engages constructionist practices in a variety of contexts to bring communities of participants with diametrically opposing viewpoints together to create livable futures.

McNamee is married to a scholar of communication (Professor John Lannamann). They reside in Durham, New Hampshire

Durham, New Hampshire

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,664 people, 2,882 households, and 1,582 families residing in the town. The population density was 565.5 people per square mile . There were 2,923 housing units at an average density of 130.5 per square mile...

.

Selected academic positions

• Faculty, Ph.D. Program in Social Psychology
  Social psychology
  Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
  
  , University of Parma
  University of Parma
  The University of Parma is one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in the 11th century. It is organised in twelve faculties. The University of Parma has currently about 30,000 students.-History:...
  
  , Italy (2005 – present)
• Visiting Professor, School of Governance, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands (2006–2009)
• Visiting Professor, Department of Public Health, College of Nursing, University of São Paulo - Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (2007)
• Visiting Professor, Department of Psychology and Education, University of São Paulo
  University of São Paulo
  Universidade de São Paulo is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian university and one of the country's most prestigious...
  
  - Ribeirão Preto, Brazil (2009)

Awards

• 2001-2004 Class of 1944 Professorship, University of New Hampshire
• 2007 Lindberg Award for Outstanding Scholar/Teacher, College of Liberal Arts, University of New Hampshire (2007–2008)

Books

• McNamee, S. and Gergen, K. J. (Eds.) (1992). Therapy as Social Construction. London: Sage. ISBN 0803983034
• McNamee, S. and Gergen, K.J. (1999). Relational Responsibility: Resources for Sustainable Dialogue. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. ISBN 0761910948
• Deissler, K. G. and McNamee, S. (Eds.). (2000). Philosophy in Therapy: The Social Poetics of Therapeutic Conversation. (Phil und Sophie auf der couch: Die soziale poesie therapeutischer gesprache). Heidelberg: Carl Auer Systeme Verlag.
• Hosking, D. and McNamee, S. (Eds.) (2006). The Social Construction of Organization. Malmo, Sweden: Liber and Copenhagen Business School Press. ISBN 8763001659
• Anderson, H., Cooperrider, D., Gergen, K., Gergen, M., McNamee, S. and Whitney, D. (2008, 2nd edition). The Appreciative Organization. Ohio: Taos Institute Publications. ISBN 0971231273

External links

• Social Construction Therapies Network