“The Very Act of Cutting”

In the course of the emic–etic debate in the scientific study of religion\s, two complexes—insider–outsider and emic–etic—have increasingly become entangled. Taken against this backdrop, this article argues that ethnomethodology provides a methodological and epistemological outlook on these two comp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Method & theory in the study of religion
Main Author: Mostowlansky, Till (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2016
In: Method & theory in the study of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Science of Religion / Method / Emic analysis / Etic analysis / Ethnomethodology
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AF Geography of religion
Further subjects:B Ethnomethodology interaction Garfinkel methodology epistemology
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:In the course of the emic–etic debate in the scientific study of religion\s, two complexes—insider–outsider and emic–etic—have increasingly become entangled. Taken against this backdrop, this article argues that ethnomethodology provides a methodological and epistemological outlook on these two complexes that can support efforts to disentangle them. Based on the discussion of ethnomethodological studies, I trace this outlook back to ethnomethodology’s focus on observable social interaction as dynamic, situational, and directed toward the public. This focus rejects the preoccupation with what is going on “inside people’s heads,” and thus underlines the methodological and epistemological redundancy of the insider–outsider distinction. Finally, I maintain that ethnomethodology and the majority of strands within the scientific study of religion\s are jointly rooted in an emic standpoint that concentrates on the study of specific contexts and interactions, and seeks to avoid generalized a priori classifications.
ISSN:1570-0682
Contains:In: Method & theory in the study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15700682-12341366