SOCI 536 Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis

Ethnomethodology and conversation analysis are radical approaches to social inquiry. While distinct, ethnomethodology - the study of practical methods of action and reasoning, i.e., 'ethno-methods' – and conversation analysis - the study of 'talk-in-interaction' - are grounded in detailed investigations of how people in all manner of ordinary and specialised sites and settings organise their activities from within. Although this module will chart the development of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis and situate them intellectually in wider fields of inquiry, its purpose is to provide an advanced, hands-on introduction to the unique way both approach the study of social practices via 'tutorial problems' centred on the analysis of interactional data collected as part of small-scale fieldwork exercises. Among other things, the module will look at how ethnographic research, observation and interviewing can be 'repurposed', that is, put to work in alternate ways when pursued ethnomethodologically.