Ethnomethodology

Abstract

Ethnomethodology was developed by Harold Garfinkel (1917–2011). Garfinkel worked 1954–1987 at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and after that as emeritus until his death in 2011. Garfinkel regarded social order first and foremost as something maintained continually in real-life situations. Therefore, he insisted that studying social order should be about where and how it happens instead of relying on data about it: Interviews and questionnaires are regarded as missing the gist of social order.We give a short introduction to ethnomethodology’s relation to the Anglo-American social theory, mostly that of Talcott Parsons. The focus is, however, on introducing the core concepts of ethnomethodology. When teaching about them, Garfinkel asked his students to conduct breaching experiments of which we give examples. Garfinkel’s focus changed later from practical action to workplace studies. Conversation analysis, CA, has a theoretical background in ethnomethodology. We will point out some differences in CA’s analytical focus