ethnomethodology

[ eth-noh-meth-uh-dol-uh-jee ]

noun

1. the sociological study of the rules and rituals underlying ordinary social activities and interactions.

ethnomethodology

/ ˌɛθnəʊmɛθəˈdɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. a method of studying linguistic communication that emphasizes common-sense views of conversation and the world Compare phenomenology

Other Words From

• ethno·method·olo·gist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethnomethodology¹

First recorded in 1960–65; ethno- + methodology

Example Sentences

At U.C.L.A., he developed theories that coalesced into a sociological subdiscipline known as ethnomethodology, which is concerned with the pool of shared knowledge and shared reasoning procedures that members of a society use to respond to the circumstances in which they find themselves.

From New York Times

“At the time, most sociologists believed that if you could specify the rules people lived by, you could predict their behavior,” said John Heritage, a professor of sociology at U.C.L.A. and the author of the 1984 book-length study “Garfinkel and Ethnomethodology.”

From New York Times

Mr. Garfinkel’s seminal work, published in 1967 under the title “Studies in Ethnomethodology,” was a series of essays that examined a number of seemingly disparate situations to expose the common-sense assumptions that are needed to make social life work.

From New York Times

Sociology Professor Harold Garfinkel, one of the fathers of ethnomethodology, gave Castaneda constant stimulus and harsh criticism.

From Time Magazine Archive