Aaron Victor Cicourel
Author Details
- Full Name: Aaron Victor Cicourel
- Year of Birth: 1928
- Year of Death: 2023
- Country: United States
- Discipline: Ethnomethodology, Sociology, Sociology of Knowledge
Additional Information
Cicourel was a central figure in the development of ethnomethodology and sociolinguistics. His work emphasized the contextual and interpretive dimensions of social interaction, particularly in institutional settings. In The Social Organization of Juvenile Justice (1968), he showed how legal and bureaucratic decisions are shaped not only by formal rules but also by subjective judgments, implicit biases, and everyday language use. Cicourel’s methodological critique of standard sociological surveys led to a deeper appreciation for qualitative and interpretive methods. He also contributed significantly to the analysis of medical, legal, and educational systems, demonstrating how meaning and classification are negotiated in practice.
Key Works
The Social Organization of Juvenile Justice (1968), Method and Measurement in Sociology (1964), Cognitive Sociology (1974)