ABSTRACT
Sociology has traditionally sought to explain law in terms of power relations and domination, of modernity and rationalization, or as the symbolic translation of internalized culture. All these perspectives look at law, its manifestations, associated phenomena, and practices, from the outside. To paraphrase Dworkin, in a totally different sense, this external gaze does not take law seriously in its praxeological dimension. In contrast, ethnomethodological analysis focuses on law as a practical activity. In this chapter, we will critique the most glaring defects of culturalist research. Next, we will emphasize the “missing what” in sociological research and, on that basis, we will seek to shed light on the precise object of praxeological respecification, promoted by the ethnomethodological approach. Finally, we will undertake a synthesis of the literature inspired by ethnomethodology in the field of law and justice.
