Interactionist & Micro-Sociological Resources: A Web Ecology for Doing Modernity

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Interactionist & Micro-Sociological Resources

A Web Ecology for Doing Modernity

Wayne Martin Mellinger, Ph.D.


Doing Modernity is part of a broader international conversation among ethnomethodologists, conversation analysts, symbolic interactionists, phenomenological sociologists, and urban ethnographers who study how social order, power, and meaning are accomplished in everyday life. The following sites represent key institutions, journals, and practitioner-scholar projects that together form the public and scholarly infrastructure of interactionist sociology today.

I. Core EM/CA Institutions & Archives

International Society for Conversation Analysis (ISCA)
https://www.conversationanalysis.org
The primary international professional organization for CA. Hosts the International Conference on Conversation Analysis (ICCA), working groups, and global resources.

ASA Section on Ethnomethodology & Conversation Analysis (EMCA)
https://www.asanet.org/communities-and-sections/sections/ethnomethodology-and-conversation-analysis
Official ASA section for EM/CA: officers, awards, newsletters, and section activities.

ASA EMCA Blog
https://asa-emca.blogspot.com
Announcements, calls for papers, awards, and community updates.

UNLV Erving Goffman Archives (EGA)
https://cdclv.unlv.edu/ega/
The most comprehensive digital archive devoted to Erving Goffman's life, work, interviews, and critical reception.

UNLV Goffman Archive Repository (Search Interface)
https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/goffman_archives/
Searchable database for Goffman archival materials.

EMCA Wiki – Personal Web Pages Directory
https://emcawiki.net/EMCA_personal_web_pages
Curated links to personal sites of EM/CA scholars worldwide.

EMCAWiki – Main Site
https://emcawiki.net
A collaborative wiki resource for the ethnomethodology and conversation analysis community, featuring methodological discussions, transcription resources, and practical guidance.

UCLA Sociology - Conversation Analysis Working Group
https://soc.ucla.edu/graduate-study/working-groups/conversation-analysis/
The institutional home of CA at UCLA (Harvey Sacks' original department), with information about ongoing research and events.

II. Journals & Living Community Blogs (Micro & Interaction)

Research on Language and Social Interaction (ROLSI – Journal)
https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hrls20/current
Flagship journal for CA and interactional linguistics.

ROLSI Community Blog
https://rolsi.net
Guest essays, teaching reflections, data sessions, and community discussion.

Social Interaction: Video-Based Studies (Open-Access Journal)
https://socialinteraction.org
Video-based multimodal interaction analysis.

Ethnomethodology & Conversation Analysis Resources (EMCA.org)
https://www.emca.org
Long-running hub for EM/CA announcements, publications, and events.

Symbolic Interaction (Journal - Wiley)
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15338665
Official journal of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.

Qualitative Sociology (Journal - Springer)
https://link.springer.com/journal/11133
Publishes microsociological, ethnographic, and interpretive research.

Human Studies (Journal - Springer)
https://link.springer.com/journal/10746
Journal focused on phenomenological and interpretive approaches to human science.

Loughborough Discourse & Social Interaction Group
https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/lds/
Major UK center for CA, discursive psychology, and membership categorization analysis.

III. Professional Societies & Organizations

The Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI)
https://www.symbolicinteraction.org
Professional home of symbolic interactionism.

SSSI Blog
https://sssiorg.wordpress.com
Community announcements, reflections, and interactionist scholarship.

IV. Practitioner & Scholar Publication Sites

Working Interactionists Writing in Public

These are sites where micro-sociology and interaction analysis appear as living practices, not just static CVs.

Conversation Analysis & EM/CA Practitioners

Saul Albert – Conversation Analysis Blog
https://saulalbert.net/blog/
Public CA on digital interaction, data, and method. Features accessible introductions to conversation analysis bridging computer science and social interaction.

Elizabeth Stokoe – CA in Public Life (Medium)
https://elizabeth-stokoe.medium.com
Short-form public applications of CA to mediation, communication, and institutional talk. See especially "The Softness of Hard Data."

Dirk vom Lehn – Symbolic Interaction, Technology & Organization
https://dirkvl.info/category/symbolic-interaction/
Empirical interactionist work on museums, technology, and organizational life.

Practice Theory & Ethnomethodology Blog
https://practicetheorymethodologies.wordpress.com
Interface between EM and practice theory.

Theory Family – Ethnomethodology Page
https://theoryfamily.wordpress.com/ethnomethodology/
Accessible introductions and micro-theory discussion.

Everyday Sociology Blog
https://www.everydaysociologyblog.com
A regularly updated blog featuring posts on ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, and symbolic interactionism, including accessible introductions to EMCA concepts and contemporary applications.

Major Scholar Publication Hubs (Interactionist / EMCA Lineage)

Steven E. Clayman – Scholarly Website
https://clayman.scholar.ss.ucla.edu
Publications on media, political discourse, and institutional interaction.

John Heritage – Publications & Articles
Main site: https://sites.google.com/g.ucla.edu/john-heritage/home
Articles & chapters: https://sites.google.com/g.ucla.edu/john-heritage/articles-and-chapters
Foundational work on epistemics, medical interaction, and news interviews.

V. Phenomenological Sociology & Theory

Graham Scambler's Blog
https://www.grahamscambler.com
Features thoughtful posts on sociological theory including phenomenological sociology, with particular attention to Alfred Schutz and contemporary applications.

Viewpoints Which Matter
https://chaturvedimayank.wordpress.com
Indian sociology blog featuring substantial posts on phenomenological sociology, Alfred Schutz, and social construction of reality.

VI. Ethnography & Digital Sociology

Ethnography.com
http://www.ethnography.com
A group blog featuring ethnographic writing from diverse global locations. While posting has slowed, the archive contains rich ethnographic accounts and methodological reflections (last active 2025).

This Sociological Life (Deborah Lupton)
https://simplysociology.wordpress.com
Prolific blog by digital sociologist Deborah Lupton covering digital ethnography, sensory methods, and contemporary sociological research. Highly active with regular posts on digital sociology, more-than-human worlds, and COVID-19 research.

Current Ethnography and Social Theory (U of Chicago)
https://voices.uchicago.edu/cest/
Workshop and discussion forum for ethnographic work, featuring calls for papers and presentations from graduate students working with ethnographic methods.

Anthropology News - Ethnographic Methods
https://www.anthropology-news.org
Regular coverage of developments in ethnographic methods and contemporary ethnographic research.

VII. Book Series & Publishers

Directions in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis (Routledge)
https://www.routledge.com/Directions-in-Ethnomethodology-and-Conversation-Analysis/book-series/ASHSER1190
Major book series publishing cutting-edge EMCA research.

How These Sites Relate to Doing Modernity

Doing Modernity is situated at the intersection of:

  • Ethnomethodology & Conversation Analysis (local practices, accountability)
  • Symbolic Interactionism (self, identity, moral order)
  • Phenomenological Sociology (lived experience, embodiment)
  • Critical Micro-Sociology (power in everyday life)

These links represent the distributed intellectual environment in which Critical Interactionism is being articulated, revised, and contested in real time.

Notes on Blog & Resource Activity

Most Active (2024-2025):

  • This Sociological Life (Deborah Lupton)
  • Everyday Sociology Blog
  • ROLSI Community Blog
  • EMCAWiki (community-maintained)
  • ASA EMCA Blog

Episodically Active:

  • Graham Scambler's Blog
  • Ethnography.com (sporadic posts, rich archives)
  • Saul Albert's Blog
  • SSSI Blog

Primarily Institutional:

  • UCLA CA Working Group
  • ASA EMCA Section
  • CEST Workshop (U of Chicago)
  • Loughborough Discourse & Social Interaction Group

Many scholars working in EMCA, symbolic interactionism, and phenomenological sociology primarily publish through academic journals and book chapters rather than maintaining personal blogs. The resources listed above represent the most accessible ongoing discussions in these fields.

If you run a practitioner, interactionist, or micro-sociological blog and would like to be included here, I welcome reciprocal links and conversation. Critical Interactionism lives through connection.

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