Comments on: In Memoriam: Harold Garfinkel

By: Marshall Shumsky, PhD

Marshall Shumsky, PhD — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 20:43:00 +0000

The goodbyes to Harold wasted little time distorting his work. Early studies on common sense reasoning, background assumptions and breaches were the effect of using Husserl, Gurwitsch and Schutz as resources: the intentionality wing of Phenomenology that separates the knowing subject from its intentional object. In his late work, Harold embraced Merleau-Ponty’s focus on embodiment, which relegated consciousness to the casket already filled with Descarte, Kant, Freud and Parsons, to mention a view. In his description of assembling the chair, we find the imminent and unbreakable nexus of background expectations, et cetera provision, documentary method, reflexivity, indexical expressions and glossing. Avoid using these in concert and you have violated Harold’s work and are doing other than Ethnomethodology. Those who thought that Harold did constructivist or deconstructivist work simply did not understand Harold’s approach. Harold’s papers are the only study of ‘the social’ in the 20th century. Sociology with Parson’s embrace of Freud presumed an ‘orchestra director’ or ‘humongulous’ that structures the brains workings to impose its will on how people interact with each other. So called ‘rule’s of interaction’ or ‘conversational’ rules are part of the orchestra. The train loaded with transformational grammar and information processing reproduces Freud’s idea of ego. People adjust to each other to be accepted, in step with others, not lose face, produce music together. Interaction and conversation rules and information processing surrenders any notion of ‘the social;’ Indeed such work has placed sociology as weak sisters of Cognitive and Social Psychology, but without their experimental rigor.

To study the social requires one to stand within the impermeability of Harold’s practices as group members conduct work; these practices are indestructible and will impose its will wherever people attempt to do work in concert.

Although we had not seen each other in many years, our lunches in the UCLA faculty lounge were filled with spirited debate. Harold encouraged my work more than anyone else and was a wonderful friend. He stands alone in the 20th century — even above Durkheim, Levy-Strauss, Foucault — in his cogent ideas and program. My hope is that the younger generation will ignore their elder’s work and forge ahead with Harold’s program, which, to date, only has a beginning.

The rats have wasted little time ransacking the bins waving a note, mentioning a conversation and claiming to have an unpublished document. All those voices were washed up 20-30 years ago.

Marshall Shumsky
Houston Texas
ms@shumsky.net

By: Rupert Read

Rupert Read — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:27:15 +0000

I wish I had had the chance to spend more time with the man. He’ll be very missed.

By: Roy Turner

Roy Turner — Wed, 04 May 2011 16:38:37 +0000

I first encountered Harold Garfinkel when he gave a talk to the Grad Sociology Club at Berkeley. It must have been 1961. I was a student of Goffman at the time, but Garfinkel’s talk made an impression that has lasted. An incredibly brilliant man. It’s good to see that he is getting recognition in obituaries.

By: Yiling Hung

Yiling Hung — Tue, 03 May 2011 05:33:25 +0000

Thoughtful piece. I enjoy reading this. And “MoMA Kids”.

By: Brandon Berry

Brandon Berry — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:42:08 +0000

Thoughtful piece.

By: Joe Skala

Joe Skala — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:34:40 +0000

Wonderful memoriam, Iddo. Thanks. Let’s hope that the special legacy Garfinkel left to UCLA sociology endures along with his contributions to the discipline as a whole.

Also, I can’t believe Mike has never seen Yellow Submarine.

By: Terri Anderson

Terri Anderson — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:15:23 +0000

Iddo, thanks for this. I hadn’t seen Garfinkel in a long time, but the seminars I took with him were fascinating…as were detailed explanations of the sentimental-intellectual structure of even his house. I’ll hold the memories, tightly paired with the theory…

By: Mike De Land

Mike De Land — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:02:03 +0000

The yellow brick road image comes from the Beatles cartoon Yellow Submarine. I’ve never actually seen it, but apparently there is a scene where John, Paul, Ringo, and George lay down the yellow bricks- making their own path as they walk it.

Thoughtful memoriam. thank you. I’d like to know more about the shouting match with Bourdieu…

By: vince carducci

vince carducci — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:00:40 +0000

When we look at the blatant disregard contemporary conservatives have of the bonds of civility, Garfinkel really hits home. A technical point — the Beatles’ “Yellow Brick Road”? Isn’t that Elton John who did that one? The Beatles tune is “Long and Winding Road.”