The cracks are where the light gets in, and shines out.

Loreen Chikwira of the Kings Fund & I wrote this protocol paper for using Praxeological Analysis and Critical Praxeological Analysis: www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy...

Hello #EMCA community! There's been another Bluesky influx - to find #ConversationAnalysis #DiscursivePsychology #MCA #Ethnomethodology use these Starter Packs. Let me know if you'd like to be added (check you're not there first) and repost this! 1. go.bsky.app/DHMkXcX 2. go.bsky.app/6p8x2UZ

We need a Strava-like app for marking season motivation. Kudos! You’ve marked five essays! Elapsed time: 90mins Grade Adjusted Pace: 3 hours Calories burned/consumed: +300 Recovery time: 1hr

Three short paragraphs, and you've got the whole mind-bending mess that is #UKHE finance & governance neatly laid out. This is why it's all so exhausting: our managers declare there's only one static frame, while we know their framing is part of the issue. 💡 www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/01/10/w...

Website and call for papers for the 2026 EUSSSI conference launched. As reflected in the Symbolic Interaction journal and CfP, welcoming of work in EM/CA related to conference theme. #symbolicinteraction #groundedtheory #emca www.sv.uio.no/iss/english/...

Just published. My chapter is based on resolving the three complaints of the novice fieldworker. “I didn’t know what to write because”: 1) no one was doing anything! 2) people were doing too much! 3) I didn’t know what to call the thing I was seeing! tinyurl.com/5n7w84hk #ethnography #emca

Delighted to receive this in the post - 'Bigfooters and Scientific Inquiry' by @drjamielewis.bsky.social and Andy Bartlett. This book is in the finest STS tradition of showing how an apparently marginal or obscure scientific practice opens up an entire epistemological world.

There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom

Symbolic Interaction, Vol.48 No4 is out - it's a special issue on "The (Re)Production and Navigation of Social Asymmetries‐in‐Action" co-edited by Catherine L. Tam @cathtam.bsky.social & Robin James Smith @robinjsmith.bsky.social congratulations, both co-editors and authors #sssi #emca #interaction

“Every single moment is implicated in all of time” A real treat, as usual, to welcome Barbara Adam back to Cardiff. Essential ideas for thinking open futures.

As a result of working through my degree and some of my postgraduate, I can size a suit for someone by eye, measure and pin for tailoring, and know how to measure for a kilt. Should have written about it. The ethnography would’ve been called Measurement and Method…

Among our growing list of “other duties” in our job spec, it seems we’re now supposed to be part of the marketing department. We understand the shifting recruitment landscape, but it’s yet another problem we’re expected to solve by ourselves. Not to mention the risks that come with the exposure.

2.5 million people with HIV have lost access to life-saving treatment as a result of Trump’s cuts to the global HIV programme. It’s estimated that this has already resulted in an additional 100,000 AIDS deaths this year.

Awesome talk from Dr Patricia Jimenez at the EMCA Doctoral Network. Patricia did an amazing job at penetrating the question of why we do membership categorisation analysis and how it can help us understand members' situated sense-making practices. Great data on classrooms and lay definitions of AI

Dr Patricia Jimenez presenting on the uses and troubles with MCA across her projects on members’ sense-making practices. Questions of producing adequate descriptions of occasioned patternings of categorial orders. #EMCA #MCA

All set for three days of Intro to MCA (sponsored by the WGSSS) and a meeting of the EMCA Doctoral Network. Huge thanks to Patrik Dahl for his organisational prowess. Schedule includes bonus pun for the MCA heads. #EMCA #MCA

A great write up on the life and liveliness of the “Manchester” EM Reading Group. As Phil says, it’s rare to find space to really talk and think in modern academia. I don’t get to go as often as I’d like, but like any favourite place that one has, knowing it’s there makes things a little better.

Words matter. Language matters. Languages matter. @spencerhazel.bsky.social on how universities cut their language degrees, AND stress the importance of language, AND use language poorly and offensively in communicating their decisions ("marketing-infused slop"). #AcademicSky #Universities

I learnt so much from this project, the reviewers, contributors and especially from @robinjsmith.bsky.social. Thank you all! @dollyeldritch.bsky.social @emma-richardson.bsky.social @lizstokoe.bsky.social @daniellarafaely.bsky.social @laalaajenkins.bsky.social #EMCA

Bo and I wrote a little piece on Jeff Coulter for The Psychologist @psychmag.bsky.social

The introduction to our special issue on the (re)production of asymmetries-in-action. It’s been a pleasure working with @cathtam.bsky.social and our contributors in demonstrating EM/CA approaches to various “isms” and some of sociology’s “Big” concerns. #emca onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Finally, I know of at least one case where the letter writer, deep into an episode of AI-induced psychosis, asked the LLM why scientists were not responding. The machine suggested that perhaps the scientists were trying to steal his discovery. This will get someone killed sooner or later.

This! If you’ve spent any time with “most students” (which seems to be the operative category for management), you’d know this to be the case.

Come and work with my wonderful colleagues @lsepbs.bsky.social! Assistant Professor in Social #Psychology / Environmental Psychology #AcademicSky jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

A great opportunity to work with a great bunch of people on a very interesting project in Oulu!

We're hiring! Research Fellow role focused on institutional ethnography and helping us to develop the lived and living experience hub. Applications open until 17th November!

Membership categorisation, sociological description and role prompt engineering with ChatGPT #EMCA In this paper (OA) we use Membership Categorisation Analysis to interrogate prompt engineering and the use of ‘natural’ sociological description - and lots more. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

You can get this from your local, independent bookshop next week! www.routledge.com/Harvey-Sacks...

‘Practically the only people still pretending scaling LLMs is “all you need” are grifters.’ garymarcus.substack.com/p/game-over-... by @garymarcus.bsky.social

Turing Award laureate Rich Sutton now critiques pure LLMs—echoing @garymarcus.bsky.social . Time to move beyond science fiction and refocus on scientific rigour. #AI #LLM #Neurosymbolic #RichSutton #GaryMarcus garymarcus.substack.com/p/game-over-...

A devastating piece from an anonymous Cardiff Uni academic: “Huddled under blankets in my freezing office, because the anti-suicide lock on the window has seized slightly ajar, I am – like everyone –frantically trying to make it work for the students.” voice.cymru/huge-cardiff...

📢Meet the IIEMCA27 Keynote Speakers. Read about their work on the conference website: www.iiemca27.org/about #EMCA #MCA

👋 Sociologists in Solidarity with Palestinians @socispal.bsky.social have joined Bluesky Give them a follow for resources, events and upcoming actions calling on sociological professional bodies to us their platforms to stand with Palestinian If you want to get involved email [email protected]

In June 2024, a special issue CFP on the Chicago School sparked a collaboration with @robinjsmith.bsky.social, Terry, Erik & Patrik. Inspired by Sacks' (1992:27) appreciative critique, we explored how CS ethnography may relate to the development of #EMCA. Our paper is now out #OpenAccess: t.ly/Has34

“The banana is big, but its skin is bigger.”

Chapter, verse, etc: if you’re an early career researcher with some serious writing to get done, Strictly Come Writing might hold the answer. Apply by 1 September to join the Sociological Review Foundation's annual funded and facilitated writing retreat in beautiful rural Wales. buff.ly/HGegMPZ

This really shouldn't be in question: Do not rely on "generative AI" to bullshit out legal writings that could mean literal life-changing or *-ending* consequences for another person, or yourself. And if you do it, & bad consequences arise, the harmed party should get to sue you & the "AI" company.

New paper hot off the press www.nature.com/articles/s41... We analysed over 40,000 computer vision papers from CVPR (the longest standing CV conf) & associated patents tracing pathways from research to application. We found that 90% of papers & 86% of downstream patents power surveillance 1/

This is one of the most important conversations in sport. Thank you very much for giving it the focus it deserves, @hebagowayed.bsky.social and @nickocchiuto.bsky.social.

Just 5 days left to submit an abstract… Forensic Conversations symposium (17 Sep Lboro/online) ‼️ Abstract submission deadline ‼️ 📅 15 June 2025

Just spent a while looking for a photo from a missing person search for a talk I’m giving next week. This. This was the photo… Fortunately, there’s more in the detail* of the account that goes with it! #ethnography #fieldwork

Hand written instructions from a paper map was a vibe. And everyone was good at holding a map on the steering wheel, between the thumbs. Always worked out ok… ish…

Thank you @robinjsmith.bsky.social for an inspiring 3 and a half days of exploring #MCA and potential projects for @iiemca27.bsky.social. We are already looking forward to your next visit. #EMCA

Definitely struggling with the cold winter here. Bring a coat! #IIEMCA27

Oh man, what to say about these three days?! We went from “baby cried” and the search for help, through headlines, making sense of political events, memes, comedy sketches, to observations in public space. A brilliant bunch! Cheers @interactemca.bsky.social @cathtam.bsky.social and all! #MCA #EMCA

A run through of the articles in the Special Section on "The Ethics of Collecting, Curating and Sharing Data in Conversation Analysis", now online (1st of 6 posts) #EMCA 1. Joyce et al www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

First visit to the Wits campus. A real honour to be Visiting Professor in the School of Human and Community Development until 2028.