Description
Book SynopsisTalk and Social Theory will be an essential text for students of sociolinguistics and the analysis of discourse in conversation.
- introduces the study of ''talk'' linked to social theory;
- develops a new theoretical argument that reviews the relations between local social practices and general societal processes of talk;
- the use of everyday examples - a family dinner table, a school classroom, an academic advising session in an community college - enhances the book's appeal to a non-specialist as well as a specialist audience;
- reviews the key theoretical perspectives and conceptual frameworks in social theory and in the sociolinguistic study of talk.
Trade Review"This latest book by Erickson addresses an issue that is very timely and topical ... the puzzle it seeks to crack is one that has long haunted researchers in social sciences and related areas."
Journal of Sociolinguistics
"I cannot think of another social science scholar who has done more to move qualitative research and methodology in creative directions…among the most important contributions to social theory in recent years."
Regina Smardon, University of Pennsylvania
"Frederick Erickson is someone who illuminates details of talk and interaction. More than that, he illuminates where we stand in making sense of human life in terms of social theory. This is a book not to be missed."
Dell Hymes, University of Virginia
Table of ContentsDedication.
Preface.
Acknowledgements.
PART ONE: Examples of the conduct of talk.
1. Sketching the terrain.
2. Seventy-five dollars goes in a day.
3. I can make a "P".
4. You wrestlin’?.
5. He has no history of IVDA.
PART TWO: Thinking about talk and social theory.
6. General perspectives on talk and social theory.
7 Toward a more practical theory of practices in talk.
8 Summing up.
Further Reading.
References.
Index.
