1. Plural of contextualism; philosophical or theoretical positions that emphasize the importance of context in determining meaning, truth, or interpretation.
Usage: academic; philosophy; linguistics
2. Approaches or practices in various fields (art, literature, social science) that prioritize understanding phenomena within their specific historical, cultural, or situational contexts.
Usage: general academic use

Examples

• Different contextualisms in epistemology disagree about whether knowledge depends on the speaker's context.
• Literary scholars debate various contextualisms when interpreting historical texts.
• The rise of contextualisms in social science reflects a move away from universal laws.
• Contextualism and its rival contextualisms offer competing frameworks for understanding meaning.
• Art historians employ contextualisms to analyze works within their original cultural settings.