David Silverman

Describing sexual activities in HIV counselling: The cooperative management of the moral order

Sacks (1992) has pointed out that participants äs well äs sociological analysts skilfully manage their descriptions of events. In particular, Speakers fashion their account in a way which attends to its implications. In both ordinary conversations and institutional encounters, this means it may sometimes be functional to proceed cautiously. Following Bergmann, the delicate ... character of an event is constituted by the very act oftalking about it cautiously and discreetly (1992: 154). In the context of an analysis of transcripts of HIV counselling Interviews, this paper examines the cooperative marking and management ofdelicate objects wiihout attributing psychological states, like embarrassment, to the individuals concerned. Two groups of (related) practices are discussed: the organization of expressive caution and the management of patients moral character. The specific contribution of this paper is in regard to the latter issue. It is shown that sexual behavior is only relevant in the context of an indefinite series of o t her matt er s that may be held t o pertain t o the moral Standing of dient s and their partners. It is thus argued that a sociology ofthe moral order must begin by clearly delineating the local production of the phenomenon.

Beyond armed camps: A response to Stokoe

In this response, I examine the ambiguity about the status of Membership Categorization Device Analysis (MCDA) in the work of Harvey Sacks. The ‘five guiding principles’ of MCDA that Stokoe enunciates serve as a crucial guide to future research. In what follows, I give some further examples of data analysis which, I believe, supports both her strong and weaker claims.

Speaking seriously: Part II

All that has been said in my previous article about the authority which the community grants de-authored speech may or may not accord with your interpretation, yet the security which convincing accounts provide (whether or not they succeed in convincing) threatens to dissolve the issue of the effortless intelligibility of a text for both writer and reader. Let us go back and address that intelligibility.

The Handbook of Conversation Analysis edited by Jack Sidnell and Tanya Stivers (eds), Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, 2013, £120, 825pp.

Retaining a clear appreciation of the role of chance, uncertainty and contingency in human affairs, Hirschman believed that disruption, conflict and difficulty were not only inevitable components of social change but they were also the spur towards creative and progressive change. He refused, therefore, to focus on the problems of Latin American development and concentrated instead on the great strides that had been achieved in terms of actual economic and social progress. His own disrupted life in the face of fascism, war and intolerance brought him to value the endless possibilities for successful adaptation and change, and he coined the term ‘possibilism’. He saw catastrophe as a beginning rather than an end. Worldly Philosopher is a major contribution to our understanding of the history of twentieth-century social science, and a sympathetic tribute to a man who struggled against personal adversity and who strove to improve the opportunities of ordinary people to live successfully in the face of massive adversity. Hirschman emerges from this painstaking study as an intellectual who stood out against the dismal science of economics, and who made significant contributions to sociology that have not been fully recognized.