Tracing the Seminal Notion of Accountability Across the Garfinkelian Œuvre

Abstract

The notion of accountability was introduced by Harold Garfinkel in the opening pages of Studies in Ethnomethodology (1967) as part of his ‘central recommendation’ for sociological inquiry. Though the term itself first appears in the Studies, it will be argued that elements of the idea were already discernible in earlier writings. The current article traces the development of the notion from its early emergence in the proto-ethnomethodological period, through its elaboration in the Studies, and, finally, to its refinement in certain later works produced toward the end of the author’s career. In so doing, it reveals the centrality of the notion to ethnomethodologically-informed study and shows its enduring contribution to social theory.