Susan Widdicombe – författare

`Identity' attracts some of social science's liveliest and most passionate debates. Theory abounds on matters as disparate as nationhood, ethnicity, gender politics and culture. However, there is considerably less investigation into how such identity issues appear in the fine grain of everyday life.

This book gathers together, in a collection of chapters drawing on ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, arguments which show that identities are constructed `live' in the actual exchange of talk. By closely examining tapes and transcripts of real social interactions from a wide range of situations, the volume explores just how it is that a person can be ascribed to a category and what features about that category are consequential for the interaction.

`Identity' attracts some of social science's liveliest and most passionate debates. Theory abounds on matters as disparate as nationhood, ethnicity, gender politics and culture. However, there is considerably less investigation into how such identity issues appear in the fine grain of everyday life.

This book gathers together, in a collection of chapters drawing on ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, arguments which show that identities are constructed `live' in the actual exchange of talk. By closely examining tapes and transcripts of real social interactions from a wide range of situations, the volume explores just how it is that a person can be ascribed to a category and what features about that category are consequential for the interaction.

In this collection of short tales born in a creative writing group, Susan Widdicombe portrays the vicissitudes of an eclectic group of characters as they struggle to overcome life’s many problems. A dog’s fidelity to his mistress is put to the test in ‘Taking Sides’ while the joys and compromises of old age are highlighted in ‘A Walk in the Park’ and ‘Sex and Love’. Some of the stories are set in Southern Africa while others take us to France, Italy or Spain. Some celebrate the comedy of the human experience while others highlight its tragedy. But all invite us to reflect on our options and on the consequences of our choices as we navigate through the changing kaleidoscope of our individual lives on Planet Earth and elsewhere. Tales of Inner Turmoil I offers us a set of quirky short stories as entertaining as they are thought-provoking.