ABSTRACT
Communication matters. It matters whether a word is spoken with a certain inflection, a gesture is displayed at a particular body height and with a particular intensity, an article of clothing is donned, or a bodily incision is endured at just some moment in an activity sequence. This book discusses the idea that what persons do when constructing messages with others has an impact on the kinds of lives they lead, the kinds of institutions and organizations they find themselves inhabiting, and the kinds of connections with other persons they make—separated across space, time, and rank.
