Harris2009

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Harris2009
BibType INCOLLECTION
Key Harris2009
Author(s) Scott R. Harris
Title Four ethnomethodological paradoxes: Reflections on the work of Kenneth Liberman
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Ethnomethodology, Kenneth Liberman
Publisher Emerald
Year 2009
Language
City Bingley
Month
Journal
Volume 33
Number
Pages 443–457
URL Link
DOI 10.1108/S0163-2396(2009)0000033026
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title Studies in Symbolic Interaction
Chapter

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Abstract

This chapter summarizes and explicates the work of Kenneth Liberman, an exemplary but underappreciated practitioner of ethnomethodology for the past 30 years. Four paradoxes or tensions organize the discussion. First, Liberman is highly confident that confidence is almost always unwarranted. Second, Liberman is extremely skeptical yet respectful of ordinary knowledge and practices. Third, Liberman insists that meaning is not inherent even while he tries to faithfully study and represent reality. Fourth, Liberman attempts to do work that benefits various individuals and groups, but he believes that the self is illusory and that social problems are interpretations. These four themes are common (but not universal) in ethnomethodological scholarship. Consequently, Liberman's work can be used as an instructive point of entry into that form of inquiry.

Notes