He-Said-She-Said: Talk as Social Organization among Black Children

... carefully researched and clearly written... Goodwin makes a major step in redefining the enterprise of studying language use in context and across contexts." ―American EthnologistI recommend the book highly."―John Haviland, American AnthropologistGoodwin’s thoughtful interpretation of these examples [of children’s conversation] is replete with wise insights, challenging critical darts, and well-referenced links to a wide literature." ―Child Development Abstracts & BibliographyIntellectual breadth shines through this book." ―Barrie Thorne "By combining Goffman's approach to ethnography with in-depth conversational analysis, Goodwin provides important and novel insights into the interactive processes through which culture is created and maintained. The results should be of interest to any social scientist." ―John J. Gumperz ... required reading for linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, and educators." ―Language and AcquisitionThis book is clearly a significant addition to the study of the range and power of children's voices at play... " ―Harvard Educational ReviewHe-Said-She-Said provides fascinating insight into the importance of social context in the organization of gender." ―SignsA rare and wonderful combination of ethnography and conversational analysis. Goodwin gives both a sensitive account of African American adolescent street talk and a careful approach to the study of language in use." ―Ray McDermott Marjorie Harness Goodwin’s study of children’s talk provides the best and most comprehensive analysis of gender differences in interaction, situated in the broader context of children’s social organization. She didn’t set up experiments; she didn’t just take field notes. She hung around with the children in her neighborhood until they trusted her, then tape-recorded their natural conversations as they played together. This is Goodwin’s long-awaited compilation of years of painstaking analysis