Beyond Language
Revisiting Berger and Luckmann Through Embodiment and Media Theory Reza Shirmarz Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann’s The Social Construction of Reality (1966) remains a seminal work in sociological theory. It offers a profound and systematic explanation of how reality is constructed through social interaction, language, and institutionalization. Their argument, which frames society as both a human product and an external, objective reality internalized by individuals, has shaped entire fields from sociology to cultural studies and beyond. However, the book reflects key limitations of its time, particularly its overwhelming focus on verbal communication and its complete omission of mass media and non-verbal communication in shaping reality. Even in 1966, when mass media, radio, film, newspapers, and television, were already central to everyday life, their absence from Berger and Luckmann’s theory reveals an important theoretical oversight. This short article critiques Berger and...
