In what ways does Garfinkel’s study of Agnes demonstrate the ethnomethodological approach to social life? by Adrienne Carpenter
Harold Garfinkel is recognized as the founder of ethnomethodology. The term ethnomethodology means the methods used by people in accomplishing their daily lives. (University of Regina, 2003, Gingrich) The ethnomethodological approach studies social interactions while focusing on how the interaction was conducted by the people involved, rather than examining the meaning and interpretation in interaction, which id how symbolic interactionists would study interactions. The ethnomethodological approach attempts to analyze social interaction in particular situations and contexts, attempting to describe and understand the methods, procedures, and considerations involved in social interaction. For ethnomethodologists, social interaction is seen as a set of common sense procedures people use to deal with …show more content…
To do this, Agnes would give seemingly normal answers to questions about her life and not tell the truth about herself, and develop an air of carelessness to disguise any suggestion that she may be struggling with anything personal. These affections prevented friends from asking her to reveal any personal feelings. It was of vital importance for Agnes to ensure that no one found out her secret. This meant she had to use many normal excuses in order to cover up her abnormal issue. For example, if she went to the beach with her friends, she would need to tape up her genitals, never go in the changing room, and not go in the water, but she was able to accomplish this by using the simple excuse that she was afraid of water or that she did not want to get her hair wet. Also, to avoid showing the fact that she had male genitalia to her boyfriend, she would forestall him by saying that she wanted to wait for sex until after