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Ethnomethodology is the development of means of analysing problems and issues of sociological nature. At home, hospitals, work place and in various institutions where people interact on daily basis, social issues arise and are a matter of concern for many.
These social issues and problems occur because people take for granted simple things like every day happenings, background affairs and even simple rules and norms which shape our daily lives. Ethnomethodology is a new way of dealing with problems and issues of sociological nature to bring about social order (Denzin 922).
Man’s environment consists of social objects which do not exist in reality. Meanings brought out by these objects affect man’s life, his current and future interactions and defines his social life.
Denzin (923) argues that one object is self, every man has self and this object shapes how he interacts with other people. People translate various happenings differently, they perceive various happening differently and have various imaginations and memories.
Man’s contact and behaviour has a direct impact on other people’s lives. Family members, friends and workmates besides others will influence our imaginations and whatever decision we make in our daily basis. If we include other people in our imaginations whatever outcome we get will please them and this builds our relationships with them. Ethnomethodology analyses rules, norms, back ground affairs, simple
Family relationship mistakes, perceptions and imaginations about situations or other ignored occurrences and comes up with better ways of dealing with such happenings or social issues.
Ethnomethodology tries to look deep into these issues and tries to show these issues which most people don’t know how they happen and the consequences they have on their lives. It endeavours to show how these background happenings can be solved in a new way without changing peoples’ lives to bring about social order now and in the future (Atkinson 443).
A lot of controversy has faced this subject of ethnomethodology and how it affects sociology. Some people argue that ethnomethodology is a critique of old ways of doing sociology while other say that it is phenomenological sociology where it is a way of doing research based on phenomenological grounds.
Atkinson argues that treating ethnomethodology as phenomenological sociology is wrong because ethnomethodology does not follow the same methods or operations as phenomenological sociology (451).
Although the two are related they differ in one way or the other and should be regarded as separate to avoid confusion. Sociology assumes that normal daily events are as a result of extrinsic forces which most people accept them without knowing that they may be responsible for some of their sociological problems.
Most people will ignore these simple things and move forward without thinking of any possible solution to them. Other critics argue that ethnomethodology is a way of challenging sociology because it disrupts social flow of events or daily happenings which is not the case.
An ethnomethodologist main aim is to come up with new different perceptions of real life occurrences and try to use new means to tackle social issues better. Ethnomethodology does not try to change the entire face of sociology.
It is concerned with reduction of people’s perception and attitudes about various social issues. It brings better understanding of interactions among people in various settings.Ethnomethodology has been referred to as radical subjectivism to sociology because it integrates itself into sociology and criticizes various issues however it does not dispute various sociological principles as argued by Zimmerman( 9).
Although language can be a very important factor in sociology, ethnomethodology does not entirely support that. For instance natural language which is known by very few people can be very important in socializing at the local setting because people can express themselves very well and understand each other easily.
However ethnomethodology states that natural language cannot always solve some of sociological problems affecting society when we have people who are not free to express themselves clearly in a given language (Hilbert 795).
Ethnomethodology proposes new ways of bringing social order and satisfaction in a community. It argues that most of the results we get from various institutions such hospitals, schools, various organizations are fictional and are very far from real. This is because most organizations follow taken for granted rules and assumptions and their outcomes are dictated by such rules which are wrong.
Ethnomethodology suggests that social problems are different in various settings and should be dealt with differently. Analysis of sociological problems or issues should not be based on taken for granted rules which forces one to make wrong choices (Zimmerman 7)
Ethnomethodology tries to create a barrier between everyday’s happenings and scientific happenings. It states that science cannot fully explain and bring solutions to
What happens to man in his environment. Pollner (378) points out that some of man’s experiences can only be explained by various methods such as ethnomethodology which bring about peaceful interactions and prosperity and ward off any future unwelcome sociological consequences.
How ethnomethodology is depicted in the Television program Seinfeld
Seinfeld is American television program aired from 1989 to1998. It has remained as one of the greatest TV shows since 1990s up to now and has attracted people of all ages. The characters in the movies are singles without identities and without moral considerations and never care much in their lives or for their past experiences.
The actors are related in one way or the other, some are family members, and others work together while others are just friends. These characters spend their greater part of their lives living together and they rarely interact with outsiders. In the TV show, the characters portray how people make judgments and criticize other people in life.
Dawson (2) says that the TV show is about something. That something is the simple happenings which happen on daily basis to our lives. Normally we dismiss them as nothing without knowing that they have social implications on our lives at the moment and in future. According to ethnomethodology these simple day-to-day occurrences if taken for granted can bring about social problems.
This is clear in the TV show where we have characters who don’t care, who have no hope, who lie about their life styles, characters who look down upon women, characters who see relationships as futile, who lack concern for morals and who don’t have concern of other people in their society.
Most characters in the in the TV show have a tragic ending because of ignoring these simple things.
Ethnomethodology explains how people socialize by looking at current issues affecting our societies.It acts as an alternative recipe on how cope with daily happenings of sociological importance in a better way.
It is not concerned with power or resource allocation in the society rather it is concerned with studying various rules and occurrences in a particular setting. It is an alternative to sociology and it aims at coming up with long-lasting workable solutions to some of the current issues of the society for better socialization of people.
Works Cited
Atkinson, Paul. “Ethnomethodology: A critical review”. Annual Review of sociology 14 (1988):441-465. Print.
Dawson, Ryan. Seinfeld: A show about something. Cambridge University. 2006. Web.
Denzin, Norman K. “Symbolic Interactionism and Ethnomethodology: A Proposed Synthesis”. American Sociological Review 34. 6 (1969):922-934. Print.
Hilbert, Richard A. “Ethnomethodology and the Micro-Macro Order”. American Sociological Review 55.6 (1990): 794-808. Print.
Pollner, Melvin. “Left of Ethnomethodology: The Rise and Decline of Radical Reflexivity”. American Sociological Review 56.3(1991):370-380. Print.
Zimmerman, Don H. “Ethnomethodology”. The American Sociologist 13.1 (1978): 6-15. Print.
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