“What the World is Made Up of”: The Chicago School’s Alternates and Laterals in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis

Abstract This article explores the intricate relationship between the development of ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (EM/CA) and the ethnographic traditions of the Chicago School (CS). By examining the historical and methodological intersections, the study highlights the complex and nuanced resonances between these influential sociological approaches with a focus on the ways CS writing featured in the development of EM/CA work. Drawing on archival materials, published resources, and conversations with scholars in EM/CA, the article explores the mutual influences and divergences. It discusses the foundational ideas of Harold Garfinkel and Harvey Sacks and their involvements with the CS tradition. Special attention is given to the relevance of fieldwork and the role of detail in both approaches. Our discussion examines how EM/CA emerged as a distinct and rigorous approach to studying the social, emphasizing the organized, situated and embodied practices of everyday life, and how this development intersected with CS. The article also addresses the methodological challenges and contributions of both traditions, offering a comparative account that enriches the understanding of the enduring questions of observational studies and fieldwork in the social sciences. It ends on a central commonality, the important reminder that both approaches provide for the crucial importance of fieldwork and getting out there to see what is actually going on.