Interaction Analysis

Course Objective

Social life comprises myriad occasions on which individuals interact
with each other: whether it’s eating breakfast with family, going to the
movies with friends, getting a health check from a doctor or receiving
advice from a financial consultant. Interaction analysis provides a
unique approach to the study of social life by taking a real interest in
its constituent interactions in both domestic and institutional
contexts.

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to interaction analysis.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Demonstrate familiarity with the interaction analytic approach and the
four methods it encompasses: Conversation Analysis (CA), Discursive
Psychology (DP), Ethnomethodology (EM), and Membership
Categorisation Analysis (MCA)
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the methodological
principles that underpin interaction analysis
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of fundamental conversation
analytic concepts
- Apply interactional analytic methods to the examination of empirical
data

Course Content

The course comprises four modules. Module 1 introduces you to the

theoretical and methodological framework underpinning interaction

analysis and its methods. This module will demonstrate that and how

interaction analysis can provide a unique insight into the ‘hidden’

organisation of everyday life. Module 2 focuses on how social

institutions like ‘medicine’, ‘education’ or ‘news media’ are talked

into being. It zooms in on key aspects of social interactions such as

how they begin and end, how they are sequentially organised, and how they

promote social solidarity. Module 3 takes up the fundamental role of

knowledge in social interactions and lays out a set of arguments to show

that and how knowledge is negotiated in interaction. Finally, module 4

integrates the concepts from modules 1-3 by offering a practical

orientation to interaction analytic research. You will be introduced to

practices for applying interaction analysis to the examination of

empirical data.

Additional Information Teaching Methods

This is an asynchronous course in which you can enroll throughout the year and then take it at your own pace. All course materials are available on Canvas together with instructions on how and in what order they should be accessed. Each of the four modules within this course comprises three or four interactive lectures and associated guided readings. More specifically, the interactive lectures feature ‘pop-up questions’ at key moments in the exposition to stimulate your thinking and engagement. The guided readings feature questions and comments meant to support and guide your understanding of the texts.

Method of Assessment

The assessment comprises four quizzes (one after each module), each

worth 10%, and a final exam, worth 60%. You need to pass the final

exam (minimum grade 5.5.) to pass the course.

Literature

The readings for this course are academic book chapters and research
articles. All papers will be made available to you via Canvas.

Additional Information Target Audience

The course is open to everyone interested in the scientific study of social interaction. The course has been designed particularly for (prospective) Dialogue Health and Society master students and it is part of the premaster program for the Communication Information Studies (CIS)

master track: Dialogue, Health and Society.