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MEMBER

A central term in ethnomethodological theory and replaces terms like ‘status position’ or ‘role’ in structural theories. From a structural perspective an individual actor is examined according to their structural characteristics (gender, age, ethnicity, class) and is assumed to behave in accordance with these structural characteristics. The subjectivity of the actor is insignificant. Ethnomethodology on the other hand, attempts to highlight the subjectivity of the individual actor and thus needs to identify the person in a way that acknowledges their knowledge, competence, engagement, commitment, or ability to make sense. The term ‘member’ accomplishes this. Ethnomethodology also refers to membership categories (things like teacher, mother, employee) and identifies membership categorization devices and rules of application (things like the economy rule and the consistency rule) as a form of ethnomethodological analysis.

Last updated 2002--0-9-

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© Robert Drislane, Ph.D. and Gary Parkinson, Ph.D.
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