The concept of action / N.J. Enfield, University of Sydney, Jack Sidnell, University of Toronto.
| Author/creator | Enfield, N. J., 1966- author. |
| Other author | Sidnell, Jack author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2017. |
| Copyright Date | ©2017 |
| Description | xxi, 222 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Series | New Departures In Anthropology New departures in anthropology. ^A568059 |
| Contents | Basics of action -- The study of action -- The distribution of action -- The ontology of action -- Collateral effects -- Natural meaning. |
| Summary | When people do things with words, how do we know what they are doing? Many scholars have assumed a category of things called actions: 'requests', 'proposals', 'complaints', 'excuses'. The idea is both convenient and intuitive, but as this book argues, it is a spurious concept of action. In interaction, a person's primary task is to decide how to respond, not to label what someone just did. The labeling of actions is a meta-level process, appropriate only when we wish to draw attention to others' behaviors in order to quiz, sanction, praise, blame, or otherwise hold them to account. This book develops a new account of action grounded in certain fundamental ideas about the nature of human sociality: that social conduct is naturally interpreted as purposeful; that human behavior is shaped under a tyranny of social accountability; and that language is our central resource for social action and reaction. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2017014909 |
| ISBN | 9780521719650 paperback |
| ISBN | 0521719658 paperback |
| ISBN | 9780521895286 hardcover |
| ISBN | 0521895286 hardcover |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyner | General Stacks | HM1111 .E535 2017 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |