Dates confirmed for 2017/18 'suite' of CA skills training courses

Skills based training courses in Conversation Analysis (£360 per course)

 

Turn-Taking: 28-30 November 2017

Sequence Organisation: 12-14 December 2017

Repair: 17-19 April 2018

Word Selection: 22-24 May 2018

 

We offer a ‘suite’ of four courses (each 3 days) designed to provide ‘hands-on’ training in conversation analytic skills:

  

These courses are open to anyone who has some familiarity with conversation analysis (we prefer you to have taken an introductory course)

 

Courses 1 (Turn-taking) and 2 (Sequence organisation) can each be taken as a ‘stand alone’ course; however completion of courses 1 and 2 is a pre-requisite for taking courses 3 and 4

 

Completion of all 4 courses is highly recommended – and will equip you with an essential ‘toolbox’ of skills for doing conversation analysis

 

DISCOUNTS:

Register for 2 courses at the same time: get 1/4 off the 2nd

Register for 3 courses at the same time: get 1/2 off the 3rd

Register for 4 courses at the same time: get 3/4 off the 4th 

 

Enquiries: Please contact Sarah Shrive-Morrison: sarah.shrive-morrison@york.ac.uk

Dates confirmed for 2017/18 'suite' of CA skills training courses:

1. Turn-Taking: 28-30 Nov 2017

2. Sequence Organisation: 12-14 Dec 2017

3. Repair: 17-19 April 2018

4. Word Selection: 22-24 May 2018

More details to follow soon

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction and Overview 12 June 2017

In the last thirty years, Conversation Analysis has become the preeminent method for the analysis of naturally occurring interaction. Despite its name, CA studies all forms of talk-in-interaction in institutional or work related settings as well as in ordinary conversation. It also studies embodied behaviours such as gaze, gesture, and movement. 

In this course, we introduce the history and principles of CA, sketch some of its main analytic procedures, and show how it offers a indepth view of how we use talk in social interaction, and how these analytic practices inform a radical methodology in sociology.

This course is recommended for people with no prior knowledge of CA who just want to get a basic understanding of its distinctive approach, and those who intend to go on to take the more technical CA skills training programmes offered in the Department.

Course Leaders: The course team will be Robin Wooffitt and Darren Reed
Location: University of York, Research Centre for Social Sciences (RCSS)
Fee: £75 (which includes tea/coffee and materials
Please contact Sarah Shrive-Morrison to reserve your place 
sarah.shrive-morrison@york.ac.uk 

Conversation Analysis Workshop in London

Sue Wilkinson, Merran Toerien and Celia Kitzinger (University of York) will be running 'An Introduction to Conversation Analysis' on 24 May 2016 in London.

The one-day workshop is designed for those with little or no previous knowledge of conversation analysis, who would like to find out more about it, and/or are interested in assessing whether the approach may be useful in their own research or practice. The workshop will cover how conversation analytic research is done, some of its key empirical findings, and some of its key applications.

For further details and bookings, see: 

https://www.bps.org.uk/events/introduction-conversation-analysis

Before I Die: A festival for the living about dying

Doctoral Student Anais Duong-Pedica writes about the Before I Die festival:

'This year will mark the 7th national Dying Matters Awareness Week.  This week of events, initially founded by the National Council for Palliative Care, is an opportunity to initiate discussions about death, dying and bereavement at a local and national level. The events put in place aim to change public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards death and dying as well as making good deaths more accessible to people.

 

Dying Matter Awareness Week will take place May 9th-15th in England and Wales. For this occasion, the University of York will contribute to the conversation with its own weekend of events: The Before I Die Festival. The festival takes place on the weekend of May 7^th-8^th and gathers a dozen of events at York, which focus on death. A few members of the department will be contributing to these discussions. Our very own Ruth Penfold-Mounce will be talking about Celebrity Death and Public Grieving – a topic particularly relevant this year since the recent deaths of Alan Rickman, David Bowie, and more recently, Prince. Meanwhile Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson will be leading a session on the end of life planning tool - Advance Decisions and  I will be holding a discussion on Dying and Grieving in the Age of Social Media.

Anais Duong-Pedica

In this one-hour session, I wish to start a dialogue on what it means to die and grieve online today. This will be a space where personal experiences will be welcomed and encouraged. We will be exploring different aspects of death and grief, specifically on social media, from the perspective of the individual who is dying/dies, but also from the perspective of close friends, family and acquaintances. I hope to raise awareness of crucial discussions that people ought to have about their death or the death of loved ones and social media: What would I like my account(s) to become? What types of grieving am I comfortable with people doing online? How do social media accounts remind us of the dead and how does that impact our grieving? How do we navigate discomfort with the way other people grieve online? And even, how do we experience grieving for people we only know online?

Not only does the Before I Die Festival play a major role in creating conversations around issues related to death, dying and bereavement and normalising good deaths, it also locates itself within an environment of growing interest for death research. The University of York is home to the Centre for Modern’s Studies’ Death Network and Cemetery Research Group led by Julie Rugg (Department of Social Policy and Social Work). Ruth Penfold-Mounce, Jack Denham and myself (Department of Sociology) also organised a well-attended symposium on Marginal Death Research last October and Ruth Penfold-Mounce, Jack Denham and Julie Rugg will be holding the three-day Death and Culture conference in September this year.  

You can support Dying Matters Awareness Week by sharing the programme on Twitter, visiting the Dying Matters website, and by going along to some of the events.  We also encourage everyone to have “the Big Conversation” – talk with friends and family about your own death and the importance of preparing for it.'

Conversation Analysis and Criminal Conviction Support

A new publication by Sue Wilkinson, who recently joined the Department as an Honorary Professor, analyses the work of Unlock - a charity supporting people with criminal convictions to move on with their lives. 

Unlock commissioned Sue to evaluate its peer-run telephone helpline.  She analysed more than 200 recorded calls to the helpline, providing both a ‘snapshot’ of the service (content and thematic analysis) and a more in-depth (conversation analytic) look at the interaction between callers and call-takers.

The typical caller to the helpline is male, with a conviction for violence, theft or motoring offences.  Most are making enquiries about the need to disclose a criminal record, and how much - and under what circumstances – they need to disclose.  Call-takers are generally able to provide clear, appropriate and up-to-date information.

The call-takers are all ‘insiders’ – people who themselves have convictions and experience of the criminal justice system.  They draw on their own experience in interactions with callers, displaying a considerable degree of understanding and empathy:  “Where you find yourself … is quite a lonely place in the world” or “A lot of people … feel a little bit sort of screwed over by the system”.

They regularly offer advice and encouragement, giving up-beat injunctions (“Give it a go”, “Stick to your guns’) and minimising what is needed in order to take the first step into employment or training (“You just need to …”).

Callers to the helpline are very appreciative of the service, and talk about the reassurance and confidence they have gained.  They often say things like “Oh that's a weight off my mind”; “I do feel better now that I’ve had a talk to you”.  This reflects the success of the helpline in offering peer support and empowering callers to overcome the negative effects of their previous convictions.

The Unlock study is one of a series that Sue has been conducting with small charities, using conversation analytic techniques to help them understand and improve their telephone helpline services.  Sue is also co-ordinating a series of courses on conversation analysis in the Department.

Protecting Choice and Refusing life-extending Interventions

Professor Celia Kitzinger has co-authored a report on how to promote understanding and uptake of 'Advance Decisions'. An Advance Decision  is a tool for people who want to protect their own choices if they lose capacity to speak for themselves (e.g. because of brain injury from a stroke or a car crash). For example, some people want to refuse interventions to artificially extend their lives if they are in a permanent vegetative state.

The report, co-authored with Professor Jenny Kitzinger (Cardiff University) was commissioned by the Welsh Minster for Health and Social Services.  It recommends a series of steps including public awareness campaigns (to counteract the widespread myth that a relative can refuse treatment on your behalf) and training for health care professionals (who often don’t understand the law in this area). The report, published this month, has prompted media attention,  been endorsed by leading barristers and GPs, and prompted extensive debate.  You can read the full findings and recommendations here: goo.gl/qeQuin

Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson are co-teaching a training course on how to help people write Advance Decisions.  It will run in May and is approved by the British Psychological Society.  Book your place here https://www.bps.org.uk/events/advance-decisions-refuse-treatment-“living-wills”-choices-end-life-part-2. Celia and Sue also regularly run training days on Advance Decisions for GPs and other crucial health care professionals, as well as providing support for individuals to write Advance Decisions for themselves.

Professor Celia Kitzinger says: “People often think it is complicated to write an Advance Decision – or that you need a lawyer.  This just isn’t true”. She says “It’s possible to record your wishes in under an hour by using a simple website such as www.mydecisions.org.uk. Then all you have to do is print it out, sign it, have it witnessed, and give it to the people who need to know about it".  Professor Sue Wilkinson adds: "Like wills, Advance Decisions are not just for terminally ill or elderly people.  We are all at risk of losing capacity to make our own decisions - for example after a car crash or sporting accident.  Everyone  should consider doing one!"

3 New Short Courses in CA announced

Workshop on Action Sequencing with Gene Lerner and Ray Wilkinson,

University of York, 16-17 June 2016

Action Sequencing Workshop

Gene Lerner and Ray Wilkinson

16-17 June 2016, University of York

Intensive ‘hands on’ workshop with leading conversation analysts:

Professor Gene Lerner, Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

Professor Ray Wilkinson, Human Communication Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK

12 places only – likely to be over-subscribed, so register your interest early to avoid disappointment!

Cost: £150

Contact: sarah.shrive-morrison@york.ac.uk

Further info: ray.wilkinson@sheffield.ac.uk

See also: http://www.york.ac.uk/sociology/shortcourses/

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Additional skills-based training courses in Conversation AnalysisOctober 2016, University of York

Developing Conversation Analytic Skills 3: Repair (3 days)

Tutors to include: Sue Wilkinson and Celia Kitzinger

Date: 11 – 13 October 2016

Pre-requisites: Developing Conversation Analytic Skills 1 and 2 (Turn-taking and Sequence Organisation)

This course is one of two – on repair and on word selection – designed to provide further core training in conversation analysis (CA).

It will provide a systematic grounding in the CA domain of repair.  It will be an intensive course, limited to 12 participants.  The course will be taught via mini-lectures, practical activities and exercises, with an emphasis on hands-on work with data.  It is intended for those with some prior familiarity with CA – especially turn-taking and sequence organisation – who want to acquire key skills for working with conversational data.  It is not necessary for participants to have their own data set.

Location: University of York

Cost: £360 (to include course materials, lunches, tea & coffee)

Contact: sarah.shrive-morrison@york.ac.uk

See also: http://www.york.ac.uk/sociology/shortcourses/

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Developing Conversation Analytic Skills 4: Word Selection (3 days)

Tutors to include: Sue Wilkinson, Clare Jackson and Celia Kitzinger

Date: 18 – 20 October 2016

Pre-requisites: Developing Conversation Analytic Skills 1 and 2 (Turn-taking and Sequence Organisation)

This course is one of two – on word selection and repair – designed to provide further core training in conversation analysis (CA).

It will provide a systematic grounding in the CA domain of word selection.  It will be an intensive course, limited to 12 participants.  The course will be taught via mini-lectures, practical activities and exercises, with an emphasis on hands-on work with data.  It is intended for those with some prior familiarity with CA – especially turn-taking and sequence organisation – who want to acquire key skills for working with conversational data.  It is not necessary for participants to have their own data set.

Location: University of York

Cost: £360 (to include course materials, lunches, tea & coffee)

Contact: sarah.shrive-morrison@york.ac.uk

See also: http://www.york.ac.uk/sociology/shortcourses/