My reflections on Hutchby & Wooffitt (2008), & Wiggins, et al. (2001)

The first thing that attracted my attention, especially because my mind has been primed on conversation analysis is that there are lots of repeated letters in the names of the authors of the reading of this week, for instance, Wooffitt, Jefferson, Wiggins:). Though this observation doesn't mean anything, It was entertaining to me.

After going through the first three chapters of Hutchby & Wooffitt (2008) about conversation analysis and also, Wiggins, et al. (2001) paper on cognitive and behavioral aspect of individuals' eating behaviors, I found a few commonalities between prescriptions of Hutchby & Wooffitt and the way Wiggins had conducted his research.

CA is the study of talk or a systematic analysis of talk produced in everyday situations of human interactions. This has been captured in Wiggin's study of family conversations at dinner table. As Wiggins has elaborated in his paper, he has based his analysis on  transcribed tape recordings of these naturally-occurring conversations to discover how family members understand and respond to each others turns at talk as is the case when participants (including mum & her daughter) discuss the unfinished plate of food of the daughter. 

As Wiggins argues not only the semantic implications of these talks-in -interactions count but also the activities being negotiated in the talk are also of importance, like the consensus the daughter tries to get to with her mum on the uneatability of the food in her plate as the reason why she hasn't finished the food up. 

 In general, the basic tenet of all CAs is that n the realm of a conversation,  individuals manage to uncover and interpret each others' intentions and intended meanings as the sequences of participants talk unfolds whic attract out attention to why conversations should be captured in naturally- occurring contexts. 

I also heard about a study conducted by an organization scholar in which she'he has captured the emerging patterns in the naturally-occurring conversations between a cloth shop seller and his/her customers which shows how the study of conversations can open its place in management and organization studies.