Using conversation analysis in feminist and critical research

Conversation analysis – the study of talk-in-interaction - is proving a valuable tool for politically-engaged inquiry and social critique. This article illustrates the use of conversation analysis in feminist and critical research, drawing on a range of empirical studies. After introducing conversation analysis – its theoretical assumptions, methodological practices, and empirical findings – it highlights projects based on two key conversation analytic domains: turn-taking and turn-design, and sequence organization and preference structure. The final section examines the key contributions of conversation analysis to feminist and critical work in the areas of categories and gender; LGBT issues; women’s labour; and the politics, ethics and design of the research process.