Sequence Organization in Interaction

Much of our daily lives are spent talking to one another, in both ordinary conversation and more specialized settings such as meetings, interviews, classrooms, and courtrooms. It is largely through conversation that the major institutions of our society - economy, religion, politics, family and law - are implemented. This is the first in a new series of books by Emanuel Schegloff introducing the findings and theories of conversation analysis. Together, the volumes in the series when published will constitute a complete and authoritative 'primer' in the subject. The topic of this first volume is 'sequence organization' - the ways in which turns-at-talk are ordered and combined to make actions take place in conversation, such as requests, offers, complaints, and announcements. Containing many examples from real-life conversations, it will be invaluable to anyone interested in human interaction and the workings of conversation.

1. Introduction to sequence organization; 2. The adjacency pair as a unit for sequence construction; 3. Minimal, two-turn adjacency pair sequences; 4. Pre-expansion; 5. The organization of preference/dispreference; 6. Insert expansion; 7. Post-expansion; 8. Topic proffering sequences; 9. Sequence-closing sequences; 10. Sequences of sequences; 11. Retro-sequences; 12. Some variations in sequence organization; 13. Sequence as practice; 14. Ending, re-beginning, and how to use this book.