ABSTRACT
This paper re-examines aspects of the relationship between Erving Goffman’s writings and conversation analysis (CA) with a focus on his conception of the interaction order and his notion of face. It is argued, first, that Goffman’s conception of the interaction order, and the associated notion that there is a ‘syntax’ of action independent of personality and social structure traditionally conceived, was a foundational insight for the development of CA and, when applied to bodily conduct, was a stimulus for the research of Charles Goodwin and the subsequent multimodal movement. Second, Goffman’s notion of face– in particular the conceptual distinction between positive and negative face – is reconsidered as a basis from which to understand and reconcile the distinctive views of preference presented in the work of Emanuel Schegloff and Anita Pomerantz, and to resolve them into an integrated whole.
