300255 Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis (MA: Soziologische Methoden - qualitativ) (S) (WiSe 2026/2027)

Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis understand social order as an ongoing accomplishment. It conceptualizes social reality as observable and reportable in our daily actions. Through talk and interaction, members of society make their shared understanding of their situation accountable.
Understanding social order this way (as something that is accomplished in situ, instead of something that happens through unobservable motivations, rational choices, values, norms, and social structures), allows a unique and empirically very fruitful perspective on our daily life: It allows us to analyze members methods as ways to accomplish social order.
In this course analyze everyday social actions by members from an ethnomethodological and conversation analytical point of view. For this, we will not only read EMCA studies and methodological texts, but we will also undertake some empirical research on our own.
Participants are expected to engage with the theoretical aspects of conversation analysis and ethnomethodology, to carry out a research project (including gaining access to a field, data collection, and data preparation), and to actively participate in the analysis of other participants’ data.