Zeitlyn1990
| Zeitlyn1990 | |
|---|---|
| BibType | ARTICLE |
| Key | Zeitlyn1990 |
| Author(s) | David Zeitlyn |
| Title | Professor Garfinkel Visits the Soothsayers: Ethnomethodology and Mambila Divination |
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| Tag(s) | EMCA, anthropology, divination, Mambila |
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| Year | 1990 |
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| Journal | Man |
| Volume | 25 |
| Number | 4 |
| Pages | 654–666 |
| URL | Link |
| DOI | 10.2307/2803659 |
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Abstract
Garfinkel's techniques of ethnomethodological analysis permit a focus on moments of crisis in dialogue. It is at such moments that the negotiation of meaning is clearest. These ideas are applied to the analysis of Mambila 'spider' divination. Only binary questions may be posed. It is shown that in their interpretations to answers received, diviners redefine contradictions as calls to explore new possibilities. Contradictions in discourse serve to give us pause for thought and constitute question-rejecting moves. The article demostrates how conversational analysis can be used as a powerful analytical tool of processual anthropology.
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