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Talk in Action explores the workings of language and interaction in the everyday life of institutions. In doing so, it introduces students to the methodology of Conversation Analysis (CA) and its applications in the real world. Beginning with a theoretical and methodological overview of the roots of CA, the book explores the intersections between interactional practices, social identities, and institutional tasks. By focusing on four institutional domains - emergency telephone calls, doctor-patient interactions, courtroom trials, and mass communication - the authors showcase the significance of CA research in areas that have deep impact and significance in our daily lives.
This expanding, dynamic field crosses the boundaries of subjects such as linguistics, sociology, and communication studies.
Talk in Action provides a necessarily interdisciplinary overview of Conversation Analysis, using a unique focus on real-world applications to provide an engaging and accessible introduction.
List of contents
1 Introduction 1
Part 1 Conversation Analysis and Social Institutions 5 2 Conversation Analysis: Some Theoretical Background 7
3 Talking Social Institutions into Being 20
4 Dimensions of Institutional Talk 34
Part 2 Calls for Emergency Service 51 5 Emergency Calls as Institutional Talk 53
6 Gatekeeping and Entitlement to Emergency Service 69
7 Emergency Calls under Stress 87
Part 3 Doctor-Patient Interaction 101 8 Patients' Presentations of Medical Issues: The Doctor's Problem 103
9 Patients' Presentations of Medical Issues: The Patient's Problem 119
10 History Taking in Medicine: Questions and Answers 135
11 Diagnosis and Treatment: Medical Authority and Its Limits 154
Part 4 Trials, Juries, and Dispute Resolution 171 12 Trial Examinations 173
13 Jury Deliberations 186
14 Informal Modes of Dispute Resolution 200
Part 5 News and Political Communication 213 15 News Interview Turn Taking 215
16 Question Design in the News Interview and Beyond 227
17 Answers and Evasions 245
18 Interaction en Masse: Audiences and Speeches 263
19 Conclusion 280
Transcript Symbols 283
References 288
Index of Names 304
Index of Subjects 309
About the author
Steven Clayman is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He has written extensively on topics relating to conversation analysis and is co-author, with John Heritage, of
The News Interview: Journalists and Public Figures on the Air (2002).
John Heritage is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. His publications include
Garfinkel and Ethnomethodology (1984) and
Communication in Medical Care: Interaction between Primary Care Physicians and Patients (2006).
Summary
Talk in Action explores the workings of language and interaction in the everyday life of institutions. In doing so, it introduces students to the methodology of Conversation Analysis (CA) and its applications in the real world.
