The morality of ethnomethodology

Abstract

Why do ethnomethodology? Academics and scientists frequently invoke two justifications. One of these claims knowledge is acquired for its own sake. This defense assumes that experts develop knowledge superior to laymen. I wish to undercut this belief. I have argued that everyone has an elegant knowledge of his own reality.' That knowledge is absolute within realities. I cannot justify my ethnomethodology as a pursuit of privileged knowledge; every farmer, freak, witch, and alchemist has such knowledge. The second justification relies on variants of the claim that "knowledge is power." This claim is intimately related to the first. It assumes that knowledge leads to an ability to predict and control which most people do not possess. Ethnomethodological studies this For example, the rebut a s~u m~t i o n .~ "power" of scientific knowledge is only proven reflexively. Belief in the predictive efficacy of scientific knowledge is an incorrigible proposition. Like other incorrigibles, it does not permit objective test: failures prove its truth.3 This argument depends upon itself. Scientists reflexively experience the absolute truth of their methods and theories every day, and we who live within scientific societies are subject to a similar experience. We feel absolutely that science is power, although science's child, technology, oppresses us because it has moved beyond the exclusive domain of Western nations to

Doctor‐patient negotiation of cultural assumptions

“…Often in the history of sociology, the analysis of social stmcture and social interaction has been characterized as incompatible (KnorrCetina & Cicourel, 1981). By placing discourse between physicians and patients in its broader social and political contexts, these seemingly incompatible macro and micro approaches are recast so that social structure and social interaction are each seen to flow from and be part of the other (Mehan & Wood, 1975). On the one hand, the social and political milieu of the culture we live in informs the discussion of the social production of medical discourse and medical outcomes.…”

“…While Garfinkel alludes to the context of action, he does not specify the relationship between norms and actual situations in the construction of behaviour. Mehan and Wood (1975) call this neglect of the social situation in which behaviour is constructed a 'constitutive bias'. It is this bias which Cicourel (1973) addresses when discussing the relationship between structure and process.…”

Rethinking the factuality of ‘contextual’ factors in an ethnomethodological mode: towards a reflexive understanding of action-context dynamism in the theorization of coaching

“…In short, we expect -and require -that our actions will change the world around us in some small (or, indeed, larger) way, and establish new contexts suitable to our salient needs. As Mehan and Wood (1975) demonstrate, even in the everyday, mundane act of greeting someone, the greeter can well expect that a context of mutually-reciprocated recognition (and possible sustained interaction) will be established where previously it did not exist. Should the greeting not be returned, contextual resources will be drawn-upon to make sense of this (indexical) non-action; "they didn't see me," "they are in a hurry," "I must have previously offended them," and so forth.…”

Analyse et exploitation de la variabilité gestuelle dans la prévention des TMS

“…38 Avec le recul, on peut considérer que cette observation participante s'inscrivait à la fois dans un processus classique en ethnologie « d'acculturation de l'intervenant » (Mehan et Wood, 1975), et dans une attention constante aux singularités qui lui sont attribuées (Adler et Adler, 1987). Les effets de mon positionnement au SST, de mon statut d'étudiante et les « décalages » de mon comportement ont ainsi pu être exploités (Devereux, 1980).…”