Analysing Practical and Professional Texts

'Rod Watson uses the tools of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis to show us aspects of texts, both the mundane texts of ordinary life and the sociological texts of authors like Erving Goffman, that we had not suspected were there. It’s a brilliant analysis of the language games and rhetorical tropes that suffuse sociology’s theoretical discourse. Anyone who wants to understand sociologists’ work will profit from Watson’s penetrating insights.' Howard S. Becker 'Rod Watson cogently and masterfully draws the reader in as a co-participant in his textural analysis. Of particular importance is his discussion of the value and power of the documentary method as an analytical tool. Watson meticulously builds his case throughout the volume, culminating in his incisive and insightful textual examination of the work of Erving Goffman.' Thomas S. Weinberg, Buffalo State College, USA 'Watson eschews generalization and instead examines the ''production work'' that constitutes a specific text and gives it meaning-in-use... Watson's book is a welcome addition to the still embryonic literature concerned with how texts actually work as social productions...' Contemporary Sociology