Symbolic Interactionism and Ethnomethodology: A Proposed Synthesis

Abstract

The basic theoretical and methodological assumptions of symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology are compared and points of synthesis are proposed. Similarities between the two orientations are noted, and these are seen to involve the problems of social organization, methodology, socialization, deviance, social control, face-to-face interaction, and the analysis of science as a social enterprise. It is suggested that these perspectives offer a much needed view of how individuals are shaped by and, in turn, create elements of social structure. Because of their emphasis on the subjective side of social life, interactionism and ethnomethodology warrant serious consideration for their contributions to an alternative view of the individual and his social arrangements. Areas of empirical inquiry relevant to both points of view are stressed and a number of hypotheses are offered for future research. Such research, it is proposed, will shed light on what are now taken by many as irreconcilable diff erences between these perspectives. THE development of a theoretical perspective appropriate for the joint analysis of social psychological and sociological problems has long concerned the sociologist. The methodology that would permit such an analysis has also remained an issue. Although various alternatives have been offered, ranging from the use of models taken from economics and psychology to structural-functionalism, none has proven completely satisfactory. My intent is to take two perspectives in contemporary sociology, one old and one relatively new, and to examine their potential for meeting the above issues. Specifically, I shall examine symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology. Because both focus in some way on the individual, they provide a view of social organization that may be termed subjective and social psychological in nature. Analysis