Constitution of boundaries as practices of inclusion and exclusion

Abstract

Boundaries have symbolic and social meaning, reproduce social inequalities via moralizing ascriptions and generate in- and exclusions of specific (groups of) persons. Boundaries resp. a boundary analytic perspective are relevant for Social Work in so far, as they shed light on normative conceptions of order and the own involvement of Social Work within these processes. Normative orders draw boundaries between a critical be and an ideal should-be, they create social realities. By these constituted boundary relations of reality and possibility, empiric boundaries – which create in- and exclusions – can be reconstructed. In the article this is shown exemplarily for the socio-pedagogic practice and the normative order of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parenting. Therefore, a boundary analytic perspective makes (im)possibilities of being (different) recognizable as contingent and normatively plausibilized exclusions, it discloses socio-pedagogic constructions of reality with their consequences and workability.