Harvey Sacks
Encyclopedia
Harvey Sacks was an American sociologist influenced by the ethnomethodology
tradition. He pioneered extremely detailed studies of the way people use language in everyday life. Despite his early death in a car crash and the fact that he did not publish widely, he founded the discipline of conversation analysis
. His work has had significant influence on fields such as linguistics
, discourse analysis
, and discursive psychology
.
at the University of California, Berkeley
(1966), an LL.B. at Yale Law School (1959), and a B.A. at Columbia College (1955). He lectured at the University of California, Los Angeles
and Irvine
from 1964-1975.
believed that conversation was too disorganized to be worthy of any kind of in-depth structural analysis . Sacks strongly disagreed, since he saw structure in every conversation, and developed conversation analysis as a result.
Sacks's recorded lectures were transcribed (by Gail Jefferson
who also edited them posthumously) but the tapes were not saved. The duplicated copies of the transcribed lectures were made freely available by Sacks and achieved international circulation and recognition during his lifetime and subsequently .
He treated such topics as: the organization of person-reference; topic organization and stories in conversation; speaker selection preferences; pre-sequences; the organization of turn-taking; conversational openings and closings; and puns, jokes, stories and repairs in conversation among many others .
, one of Sacks's close collaborators, colleagues and co-authors, became his literary executor
. The subsequent handling of the literary estate (Nachlass
, to use the academic term) has attracted some controversy.
Sacks's major work, Lectures on Conversation, is composed of edited revisions of transcribed lectures held from Spring 1964 through to 1972, and comprises about 1200 pages in a two-volume work published by Basil Blackwel in 1992. This publication project was instigated largely by David Sudnow and Gail Jefferson
, colleagues and students of Sacks at Berkeley, UCLA and Irvine, and includes an introduction by Emanuel Schegloff
. In her acknowledgements in these volumes, Jefferson mentioned the help of Sudnow in dealing with Sacks's literary estate. The Harvey Sacks Memorial Association, registered as a not-for-profit Association, was formed by Sudnow.
These Lectures have been important for Sacks's later influence and for the field of Conversation Analysis
.
Sudnow was a follower of Alfred Schutz
in phenomenology, and Harold Garfinkel
in ethnomethodology. Both Sudnow and Garfinkel regard the work of Sacks as outside the ethnomethodological mainstream.
Ethnomethodology
Ethnomethodology is an ethnographic approach to sociological inquiry introduced by the American sociologist Harold Garfinkel . Ethnomethodology's research interest is the study of the everyday methods people use for the production of social order...
tradition. He pioneered extremely detailed studies of the way people use language in everyday life. Despite his early death in a car crash and the fact that he did not publish widely, he founded the discipline of conversation analysis
Conversation analysis
Conversation analysis is the study of talk in interaction . CA generally attempts to describe the orderliness, structure and sequential patterns of interaction, whether institutional or in casual conversation.Inspired by ethnomethodology Conversation analysis (commonly abbreviated as CA) is the...
. His work has had significant influence on fields such as linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, discourse analysis
Discourse analysis
Discourse analysis , or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken, signed language use or any significant semiotic event....
, and discursive psychology
Discursive psychology
For other uses of the word, see discursive.Discursive psychology is a form of discourse analysis that focuses on psychological themes....
.
Academic career
Sacks received his doctoral degree in sociologySociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
(1966), an LL.B. at Yale Law School (1959), and a B.A. at Columbia College (1955). He lectured at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
from 1964-1975.
Work
Sacks became interested in the structure of conversation while working at a suicide counseling hotline in Los Angeles in the 1960s. The calls to the hotline were recorded, and Sacks was able to gain access to the tapes and study them. In the 1960s, prominent linguists like Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
believed that conversation was too disorganized to be worthy of any kind of in-depth structural analysis . Sacks strongly disagreed, since he saw structure in every conversation, and developed conversation analysis as a result.
Sacks's recorded lectures were transcribed (by Gail Jefferson
Gail Jefferson
Gail Jefferson was, along with Harvey Sacks and Emanuel Schegloff, one of the founders of the area of research known as Conversation Analysis . She is particularly remembered today for the methods and notational conventions she developed for transcribing talk...
who also edited them posthumously) but the tapes were not saved. The duplicated copies of the transcribed lectures were made freely available by Sacks and achieved international circulation and recognition during his lifetime and subsequently .
He treated such topics as: the organization of person-reference; topic organization and stories in conversation; speaker selection preferences; pre-sequences; the organization of turn-taking; conversational openings and closings; and puns, jokes, stories and repairs in conversation among many others .
Legacy
Emanuel SchegloffEmanuel Schegloff
Emanuel Abraham Schegloff is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Los Angeles. He was born in 1937 in New York. With Harvey Sacks and Gail Jefferson, Schegloff was one of the principal creators of the field of Conversation Analysis...
, one of Sacks's close collaborators, colleagues and co-authors, became his literary executor
Literary executor
A literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of a literary estate. According to Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide "A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate...
. The subsequent handling of the literary estate (Nachlass
Nachlass
Nachlass is a German word, used in academia to describe the collection of manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and so on left behind when a scholar dies. The word is a compound in German: nach means 'after', and the verb lassen means 'leave'. The plural can be either Nachlasse or Nachlässe...
, to use the academic term) has attracted some controversy.
Sacks's major work, Lectures on Conversation, is composed of edited revisions of transcribed lectures held from Spring 1964 through to 1972, and comprises about 1200 pages in a two-volume work published by Basil Blackwel in 1992. This publication project was instigated largely by David Sudnow and Gail Jefferson
Gail Jefferson
Gail Jefferson was, along with Harvey Sacks and Emanuel Schegloff, one of the founders of the area of research known as Conversation Analysis . She is particularly remembered today for the methods and notational conventions she developed for transcribing talk...
, colleagues and students of Sacks at Berkeley, UCLA and Irvine, and includes an introduction by Emanuel Schegloff
Emanuel Schegloff
Emanuel Abraham Schegloff is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Los Angeles. He was born in 1937 in New York. With Harvey Sacks and Gail Jefferson, Schegloff was one of the principal creators of the field of Conversation Analysis...
. In her acknowledgements in these volumes, Jefferson mentioned the help of Sudnow in dealing with Sacks's literary estate. The Harvey Sacks Memorial Association, registered as a not-for-profit Association, was formed by Sudnow.
These Lectures have been important for Sacks's later influence and for the field of Conversation Analysis
Conversation analysis
Conversation analysis is the study of talk in interaction . CA generally attempts to describe the orderliness, structure and sequential patterns of interaction, whether institutional or in casual conversation.Inspired by ethnomethodology Conversation analysis (commonly abbreviated as CA) is the...
.
Sudnow was a follower of Alfred Schutz
Alfred Schütz
Alfred Schütz was an Austrian social scientist, whose work bridged sociological and phenomenological traditions to form a social phenomenology, and who is gradually achieving recognition as one of the foremost philosophers of social science of the [twentieth] century.-Life:Schütz was born in...
in phenomenology, and Harold Garfinkel
Harold Garfinkel
Harold Garfinkel was a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is known for establishing and developing ethnomethodology as a field of inquiry in sociology.-Biography:...
in ethnomethodology. Both Sudnow and Garfinkel regard the work of Sacks as outside the ethnomethodological mainstream.
Works
- Sacks, H. (1963) "Sociological Description," in Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 8:1–16.
- Sacks, H. and Garfinkel, H.Harold GarfinkelHarold Garfinkel was a Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is known for establishing and developing ethnomethodology as a field of inquiry in sociology.-Biography:...
(1970) "On formal structures of practical action," in J.C. McKinney and E.A. Tiryakian (eds.), Theoretical Sociology, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1970, pp. 338–366. Reprinted in H. Garfinkel, ed., (1986) Ethnomethodological Studies of Work, 160-193. - Sacks, H. (1972) "An Initial Investigation of the Usability of Conversational Data for Doing Sociology," in D. Sudnow (ed.) Studies in Social Interaction, Free Press, New York, pp. 31–74.
- Sacks, H. (1972) "Notes on Police Assessment of Moral Character," in D.N. Sudnow (ed.) Studies in Social Interaction, Free Press, New York, NY, pp. 280–293.
- Sacks, H. (1973/1987). On the preferences for agreement and contiguity in sequences in conversation. In G. Button & J. R. Lee (Eds.), Talk and social organisation (pp. 54 – 69). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
- Sacks, H. (1974) "On the Analyzability of Stories by Children," in R. Turner (ed.) Ethnomethodology, Penguin, Harmondsworth, pp. 216–232.
- Sacks, H. (1974) "An Analysis of the Course of a Joke's telling in Conversation," in R. Bauman and J.F. Sherzer (eds.) Explorations in the Ethnography of Speaking. Cambridge, UK; Cambridge University Press, pp. 337–353.
- Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A. & Jefferson, G. (1974) "A Simplest Systematics for the Organisation of Turn-Taking for Conversation," in Language, 50:696–735.
- Sacks, H. (1975) "Everyone Has To Lie," in B. Blount and M. Sanches (eds.) Sociocultural Dimensions of Language Use, Academic Press, New York, NY, pp. 57–80.
- Sacks, H. (1978) "Some Technical Considerations of a Dirty Joke," in J. Schenkein (ed.) Studies in the Organization of Conversational Interaction, Academic Press, New York, NY, pp. 249–269.
- Sacks, H. (1979) "Hotrodder: A Revolutionary Category," in G. Psathas (ed.) Everyday Language: Studies in Ethnomethodology. Irvington Press, New York, NY, pp. 7–14.
- Sacks, H. and E.A. Schegloff. (1979) "Two Preferences in the Organization of Reference to Persons in Conversation and Their Interaction," in G. Psathas (ed.) Everyday Language: Studies in Ethnomethodology, Irvington Press, New York, NY, pp. 15–21.
- Sacks, H. (1989) "Lectures 1964-1965," in Gail Jefferson (ed.) with an Introduction/Memoir by E.A. Schegloff, Human Studies, 12: 211–393.
- Sacks, H. (1992). "Lectures on Conversation, Volumes I and II" Edited by G. Jefferson with Introduction by E.A. Schegloff, Blackwell, Oxford. ISBN 1-55786-705-4