Abstract

Ethnomethodology examines how people develop and apply their understanding of the world in routine daily activities. Ethnomethodological studies point out that during every social interaction, participants collectively work to understand not only the explicit topics of their interaction, but also power relations, appropriate behavior, and options or constraints that affect subsequent actions in a particular setting. Participants generally do not identify the latter topics as the subjects of their interaction. However, how their routine tacit or transparent social practices relate to those topics affects the social organization in which they interact.