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Ethnomethodology (EM) & Conversation Analysis (CA)

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Ethnomethodology (EM) & Conversation Analysis (CA) Ethnomethodology (EM) & Conversation Analysis (CA) ––DevelopmentDevelopment & Challenges Ilkka Arminen, Dr. Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, University of Tampere Ethnomethodological program (Arminen 2005) The meaning of a social phenomenon is equivalent to methodic procedures through which participants sustain the sense of a given phenomenon Language use and social actions are indexical, i.e., their understanding is bound to the context of their achievement The social order is the participants’ methodic achievement Rules and regularities are resources for interpretations and guide the participants as sources of understanding METHODIC IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH Naturalism: Studies concentrate on real events, i.e., naturally occurring data NonNon--ironicalironical stancestance——thethe participants’ own actions and orientations are the source of meaning: a researcher does not possess superior knowledge a priori. (The referential truthfulness of participants’ understandings is bracketed –– they are analysed as situated actions.) Observational science: Studies focus on what can be observed (though hidden rationalities or meanings may be inferred from the observational entities). Principles of CA (see Hutchby & Wooffitt 1998; ten Have 1999, Arminen 2005) Talk and other actions in interaction are sequentially organized and ordered The relationships between turns and other moves in interaction are the key resource both for participants and analysts in deciphering the sense of ongoing action Participants orient to this sequential order and through this orientation realize the normative orderliness of social actions Analysis focuses on real--lifereal life instances of interactions (since memorized or invented examples tend to lose or transpose significant details of actions) An infinite number of features in an interaction may become significant (therefore the relevance of features should not be judged in theory nor a priori) Milestones of Conversation Analysis 19641964--19721972 --HarveyHarvey Sacks lectures at UCLA, California --ideaidea of conversation analysis develops in conjunction with teaching and in collaboration between Harvey Sacks, Emanuel Schegloff, and Gail Jefferson 1970s -- study of ordinary conversation as a research field is established 19731973--7777 A series of classical articles are published: "Opening Up Closings" by Schegloff E.A. and Harvey Sacks (1973); “A Simplest Systematics for the Organization of Turn--takingTurn taking for Conversation” by H. Sacks, E. Schegloff & G. Jefferson (1974); "The Preference for Self--CorrectionSelf Correction in the Organization of Repair in Conversation" by Schegloff E.A., Gail Jefferson and Harvey Sacks. (1977) talk as a systematically organized, autonomous system Strengthening of CA 1979 “Order in Court” by J.M. Atkinson & P. Drew systematic analysis of institutional interaction drawing on a comparison between ordinary and institutional interaction 1980s: study of institutional interaction becomes an established research field 1984 “Structures of Social Action: Studies in Conversation Analysis” (eds.) J.M. Atkinson & J. Heritage research practice based on collections of cases becomes established via a collection of key essays 1987 “Plans and Situated Action: The Problem of HumanHuman-- Machine Communication” by L. Suchman the idea of designdesign--orientedoriented conversational studies emerges Diversification of CA 1990s: conversation analysis becomes diversified establishment of interactional linguistics studying grammar in interaction establishment of work place studies that carry out design--design oriented studies in technological environments 1992 “Lectures on Conversation” by H. Sacks Sacks’ lectures from 1964--19721964 1972 published 1992 “Talk at Work” (eds.) P. Drew & J. Heritage a key collection of institutional interaction studies 1996 “Interaction and Grammar” (eds.) E.Ochs, E. Schegloff & S. Thompson a key collection in interactional linguistics 2000 “Technology in Action” by C. Heath & P.Luff a systematic presentation of the idea of workplace studies Studies on Institutional Interaction TurnTurn--takingtaking organization Overall structural organization of the interaction Sequential organization Turn design Lexical choice Interactional asymmetries Figure 1 ABC for the Study of Institutional Interaction .
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