nach oben

Human Studies

Erschienen in:

01.06.2007 | Research paper

Kitzinger’s Feminist Conversation Analysis: Critical Observations

verfasst von: Maria T. Wowk

Erschienen in: Human Studies | Ausgabe 2/2007

Einloggen

Aktivieren Sie unsere intelligente Suche, um passende Fachinhalte oder Patente zu finden.

search-config

KI-gestützte Suche

Aus

Abstract

This paper contributes to ongoing discussions on feminism and the analysis of discourse. In particular, I examine Celia Kitzinger’s [(2000), Doing feminist conversation analysis. Feminism and Psychology, 10, 163–193 and (2002) Doing feminist conversation analysis. In P. McIlvenny (Ed.), Talking gender and sexuality. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.] claims to be engaged in “feminist conversation analysis.” This paper identifies susceptibilities in her arguments at both the theoretical level and the level of data analysis. My argument is that Kitzinger fails to appreciate the fact that her enterprise is basically a formal analytic one and that as such it is both radically different from, and incommensurate with, ethnomethodology (EM) and conversation analysis (CA). Indeed her attempts to supplement feminism with EM/CA are unnecessary and counterproductive from an EM/CA position insofar as they crucially undermine its integrity.

Vorheriger Artikel Between conflict and reconciliation: the hard truth

Nächster Artikel East-Struck: Janet Afary and Kevin Anderson’s Foucault and the Iranian Revolution in Context

Sie haben noch keine Lizenz? Dann Informieren Sie sich jetzt über unsere Produkte:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Jetzt informieren

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Jetzt informieren

On any matters where the two articles differ (largely data extracts and analysis) I have addressed the most up-to-date article—2002.

See Susan Wilkinson and Kitzinger (2003) where the paper is indicated as providing the necessary foundational background for those interested in pursuing feminist CA. As I have said, I do not wish to use this paper to critique the entire corpus of Kitzinger’s work—not least because she does not continue throughout to explicitly claim that she is engaged in “feminist conversation analysis.” However, she does not later entirely disaffiliate from the arguments she makes in this paper and some of the issues which I raise here are still pertinent to later articles (see Kitzinger 2005a,b; Land and Kitzinger 2005).

Space forbids any consideration of the relationship between EM/CA and all of the others. I have chosen to focus on social constructionism here because as an approach it seems to me to be the strongest case for Kitzinger’s arguments.

As will become obvious in my argument, I do not endorse this distinction.

Formal analysis, following Garfinkel, refers to the approach of formalism which conventional sociology brings to its problems. Such an approach is designed to create abstract generalisability whereas EM seeks to devise ways of finding social order in its specific phenomenal detail in local settings.

This paper provides an EM-sensitive basis for CA.

Although Kitzinger’s account is directed mainly at CA, she does introduce and mention EM (not least in her use of the concept of “social construction” or anti-essentialism, which she argues is employed by both EM/CA and feminism).

See also on this Lynch and Sharrock (2003: xxxvi), who reference Garfinkel’s published interview with B. Jules-Rosette (1985).

Early in the development of EM Garfinkel (1967; pp. 116–85) studied the production of female sex status in an intersexed person. Part of the study served to raise into visibility the usually tacit procedures involved in the production of sex status.)

Garfinkel and Wieder (1992, p. 204) discuss of the meaning of “immortal” for EM.

We should note that Garfinkel (Garfinkel and Wiley 1980) explicitly distances himself from symbolic interactionism. See also Watson 1998, 2003.

Garfinkel (1996) uses the term formal analysis [previously (Garfinkel and Sacks 1970) constructive analysis] to refer to the policies and methods of classical sociologies.

See Rod Watson (1998) for both an anti-essentialist and anti-reificatory approach to a members’ (rather than analyst’s) conception of “self” -as a genuinely praxiological project (using EM and CA together).

Of course on particular occasions something approximating the “micro–macro” distinction may be used. However, members certainly do not use this as a general characterization of their social milieu.

I am grateful to Roger Slack (Univ of Edinburgh) for this characterization in a personal communication.

Of course CA does not analyze members’ orientations as the end point, rather it analyses the methodic ways in which these orientations are incarnate in members’ situated practices. One might rather characterize CA as beginning with participants’ orientations, though actually this dichotomy once again disattends the enterprise and its relationship to participants’ orientations. The explication of members’ methods is a much more hermeneutic project. In fact CA allows the data on members’ orientations to set the terms of the analysis at the outset.

The extent to which they can now be described as “orientations” is an issue here. Also, since in any particular stretch of talk members will be making their (other) orientations explicit or available in various ways Kitzinger’s approach can (and does) lead to the privileging of her definition of the phenomenon over their own in situ orientations.

Particularly in the sphere of studies of gender, the question of “pre-determined” or putatively omni-relevant (or both) issues does surface in analyses. In my opinion we have to be clear about whether claims to omni-relevance are analytic claims or members’ own in situ practical orientations, and then we should examine such claims for their evidential bases.

Note for example the use of the term ‘we’ and the term ‘what we would want to label’ in the quotation above from pages 56 and 57 of Kitzinger’s article.

See Crews 1986 on Freud.

My discussion here is heavily reliant upon Watson (n. d) “Reply to Doran” at the First International Conference on Understanding Language Use in Everyday Life, University of Calgary, August 1989.

According to Garfinkel and Wieder (1992), “Spelled with an asterisk, order* is a collector and a proxy for any and every topic of logic, meaning, method, reason and order. It stands in for any and all the marvelous topics that are available in received lingoes and received topics in intellectual history…EM seeks to respecify them as locally produced, naturally accountable phenomena of order*.”

I leave aside the fact that Kitzinger herself was the interviewer in one of the sessions.

The “mm” responses could mean a variety of things e.g. they can be non-committal or acknowledgment or receipt tokens or continuers—an ‘mm’ can do all/any of these things at least, but Kitzinger fails to recognize their presence as responses let alone explicitly analyse their possible meaning.

Both of these transcripts come from talk which is not simply “conversational” but which is part of a more institutional setting (seminar discussions of some sort). The analysis does not appear to consider whether the “lack of response” may be an outcome of a pre-allocated system for taking turns in the “classroom” (McHoul 1978) and, especially in the second instance, consideration should be given to whether the “lack of response to the coming out” may be a response to an orientation that students do not initiate talk but respond only to invitations to talk from the “teacher.”

See also Sacks (1984) who inveighs against hypotheticalised-typicalised models such as those of Kitzinger’s hotel data, rejecting them in favour of what nowadays may be called radical or wild phenomena.

The analytic practice of such research appears to involve a residual mentalism and a post hoc “archaeology” of motives—these then being part of the stipulative elements of such approaches.

See Mehan (1978) on the failings of such “field observations”- where examples which are presented are selected precisely because they are corroborative, self-validating and do not usually present or even allow of disconfirming evidence.)

Kitzinger argues (as if it makes her argument about integrating CA/EM and feminism) that it is remarkable that the same criticisms are directed at both CA/EM and various feminisms. However, I would suggest a caution here. Although the same criticisms may be made this does not necessarily mean that the same solutions are applicable.

The fact that analysts may not explicitly identify themselves as feminists in their explications however should not mean that an anti-feminist position can assumed. It simply means that political activism and explication do not occur coterminously.

Anderson, R. J., & Sharrock, W. W. (1986). Methodological tokenism, or are good intentions enough? Semiotica, 58(1/2), 1–27.CrossRef

Billig, M. (1999). Whose terms? Whose ordinariness? Rhetoric and ideology in conversation analysis. Discourse and Society, 10(4), 543–558.CrossRef

Burke, K. (1961). The rhetoric of religion: Studies in logology. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Coulter, J. (1989). Cognitive ‘penetrability’ and the emotions. In D. Franks & E. Doyle McCarthy (Ed.), The sociology of emotions. New York: JAI Press.

Crews, F. (1986). Skeptical engagements. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Eglin, P. (2002). Members’ gendering work: “women”, “feminists” and membership categorization analysis. Discourse and Society, 13(6), 819–825.CrossRef

Eglin, P., & Hester, S. (1999a). Moral order and the Montreal massacre: A story of membership categorization analysis. In P. Jalbert (Ed.), Media studies: Ethnomethodological approaches. Lanham: University of America Press.

Eglin, P., & Hester, S. (1999b). “You’re all a bunch of feminists:” categorization and the politics of terror in the Montreal massacre. Human Studies, 22(2–4), 253–272.CrossRef

Eglin, P., & Hester, S. (2003). The Montreal massacre: A story of membership categorization analysis. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.

Frohlich, D., Drew, P., & Monk, A. (1994). Management of repair in human-computer interaction. Human-Computer Interaction, 9, 385–425.

Garfinkel, H. (1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

Garfinkel, H. (1990). The curious seriousness of professional sociology. In: B. Conein, M. de Fornel, L. Quéré, Les Formes de la Conversation. Vol 1. CNET: 69–78.

Garfinkel, H. (1996). Ethnomethodology’s program. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59(1), 5–21.CrossRef

Garfinkel, H. (2002). Ethnomethodology’s program: Working out Durkheim’s aphorism. Ed and Intro Anne Rawls. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Garfinkel, H., & Sacks, H. (1970). On formal structures of practical action. In J. C. McKinney & E. A. Tiryakian (Eds.), Theoretical sociology: Perspectives and developments. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Garfinkel, H., & Wieder, D. L. (1992). Two incommensurable, asymmetrically alternate technologies of social analysis. In G. Watson & R.M. Seiler (Eds.), Text in context: Contributions to ethnomethodology. London: Sage.

Garfinkel, H., & Wiley, N. (1980). Conversation (unpublished transcript). Los Angeles: University of California, Sociology Department.

Heritage, J. C., & Watson, R. D. (1979). Formulations as conversational objects. In G. Psathas (Ed.), Everyday language: Studies in ethnomethodology. New York: Irvington.

Hester, S., & Francis, D. (2000). Ethnomethodology, conversation analysis and institutional talk. Text, 20(3), 373–413.

Jules-Rosette, B. (1985). Harold Garfinkel: La contribution de l’ethnomethodologie à la recherché sociologique. Sociétés: Revue des sciences humaines et sociales. No.5, Septembre 1985:358 (interview with Garfinkel).

Kessler, S. J., & McKenna, W. (1978). Gender: an ethnomethodological approach. New York: Wiley.

Kitzinger, C. (2000). Doing feminist conversation analysis. Feminism and psychology, 10, 163–193.CrossRef

Kitzinger, C. (2002). Doing feminist conversation analysis. In P. McIlvenny (Ed.), Talking gender and sexuality. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Kitzinger, C. (2005a). Heteronormativity in action: Reproducing normative heterosexuality in ‘after hours’ calls to the doctor. Social Problems, 52(4), 477–498.CrossRef

Kitzinger, C. (2005b). Speaking as a heterosexual: (How) does sexuality matter for talk-in-interaction. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 38(3), 221–265.CrossRef

Land, V., & Kitzinger, C. (2005) Speaking as a lesbian: Correcting the heterosexist presumption. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 38(4), 371–416.CrossRef

Lynch, M. (1993). Scientific practice and ordinary action: Ethnomethodology and social studies of science. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Lynch, M., & Bogen, D. (1994). Harvey Sacks’ primitive natural science. Theory, Culture & Society, 11, 65–104.CrossRef

Lynch M., & Sharrock W. W. (Eds.) (2003). Harold Garfinkel. London: Sage.

McHoul, A. (1978). The organization of turns at formal talk in the classroom. Language in Society, 7, 183–213.CrossRef

McIlvenny, P. (2002). Introduction. In P. McIlvenny (Ed.), Talking gender and sexuality Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Mehan, H. (1978). Structuring School Structure. Harvard Educational Review, 48(1), 32–64.

Psathas G. (Ed.) (1979). Everyday language: Studies in ethnomethodology. New York: Irvington.

Rose, E. (1960). The english record of a natural sociology. American Sociological Review, 25(2), 193–208.CrossRef

Robillard, A. B. (1999). Wild phenomena and disability jokes. Body and Society, 5(4), 61–65.CrossRef

Sacks, H. (1963). On sociological description. Berkeley Journal of Sociology 8. Reprinted. In J. Coulter (Ed.) (1990). Ethnomethodological sociology. Aldershot: Elgar.

Sacks, H (1972). On the analysability of stories told by children. In J. J. Gumpertz, D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in sociolinguistics. New York: Holt, Rinehard & Winston.

Sacks, H. (1984). Notes on methodology. In J. M. Atkinson & J. Heritage (Eds.) Structures of social action: Studies in conversation analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Sacks, H. (1995). Lectures on conversation. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd.

Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn taking for conversation. Language, 50(4), 696–735.CrossRef

Schegloff, E. A. (1991). Reflections on talk and social structure. In D. Boden & D. H. Zimmerman (Eds.), Talk and social structure: Studies in ethnomethodology and conversation analysis. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Schegloff, E. A. (1997). Whose text? Whose context? Discourse and Society, 8, 165–187.CrossRef

Schegloff, E. A. (1998). Reply to Wetherell. Discourse and Society, 9, 413–416.CrossRef

Sharrock W., & Coulter, J. (2003). Dissolving the projection problem. Visual Studies, 18(1), 74–82.CrossRef

Sharrock, W, & Ikeya, N. (2000). Instructional matter. In S. Hester & D. Francis (Eds.), Local educational order. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Sharrock, W. W., & Watson, D. R. (1988). Autonomy among social theories: The incarnation of social structures. In N. G. Fielding (Ed.), Actions and structure: Research methods and social theory. London: Sage.

Speer, S. A. (1999). Feminism and conversation analysis: An oxymoron? Feminism and Psychology, 9(4), 471–478.CrossRef

Speer, S. A. (2002). What can conversation analysis contribute to feminist methodology? Discourse and Society, 13(6), 783–803.CrossRef

Stokoe, E. H. (2000). Toward a conversation analytic approach to gender and discourse. Feminism and Psychology, 10(4), 552–563.CrossRef

Stokoe, E. H. (2003a). Mothers, single women and sluts: Gender, morality and membership categorization in neighbourhood disputes. Feminism and Psychology, 13(3), 317–344.CrossRef

Stokoe, E. H. (2003b). Doing gender, doing categorization: Recent developments in language and gender research. International Sociolinguistics 2(1).

Stokoe, E. H., & Smithson, J. (2002). Gender and sexuality n talk-in-interaction: Considering conversation analytic perspectives. In P. McIlvenny (Ed.), Talking gender and sexuality. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Stokoe, E. H., & Weatherall, A. (2002). Gender, language, conversation analysis and feminism. Discourse and Society, 13(6), 707–713.CrossRef

Turner R. (Ed.) (1974). Ethnomethodology: Selected readings. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Watson, R. (1992). The understanding of language use in everyday life. Is there a common ground? In G. Watson & R. M. Seiler (Eds.), Text in context: Contributions to ethnomethodology. London: Sage.

Watson, R. (1998). Ethnomethodology, consciousness and self. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 5, 202–223.

Watson, R. (2000). The character of institutional talk: A response to Hester and Francis. Text, 20(3), 377–89.

Watson, R. (2003). The anthropology of communication: Foundations, futures and the analysis of constructions of space. In T. Lask (Ed.), Construcions socials de l’espace. Liege: U. L. G. (Presses Universitaires de Liege).

Weatherall, A. (2002). Towards understanding gender and talk-in-interaction. Discourse and Society, 13(6), 767–781.CrossRef

Wetherell, M. (1998). Positioning and interpretative repetoires; Conversation analysis and post-structuralism in dialogue. Discourse and Society, 9(3), 387–412.CrossRef

Wilkinson, S., & Kitzinger, C. (2003). Constructing identities:A feminist conversation analytic approach to positioning in action. In R. Harré & F. Moghaddam (Eds.), The self and others. Westport CT: Praeger Publishers.

Titel: Kitzinger’s Feminist Conversation Analysis: Critical Observations
verfasst von: Maria T. Wowk
Publikationsdatum: 01.06.2007
Verlag: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Erschienen in: Human Studies / Ausgabe 2/2007
Print ISSN: 0163-8548
Elektronische ISSN: 1572-851X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10746-007-9051-z

Springer Professional

Abstract

Bitte loggen Sie sich ein, um Zugang zu Ihrer Lizenz zu erhalten.

Sie haben noch keine Lizenz? Dann Informieren Sie sich jetzt über unsere Produkte:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Weitere Artikel der Ausgabe 2/2007

Understanding Evil Acts

Between conflict and reconciliation: the hard truth

Sociologizing metaphysics and mind: A pragmatist point of view on the methodology of the social sciences

East-Struck: Janet Afary and Kevin Anderson’s Foucault and the Iranian Revolution in Context

Cognitive Theory and Phenomenology in Arendt’s and Nussbaum’s Work on Narrative

Premium Partner