Talking About Race

This article examines patterns of common-sense knowledge about race to understand how race is made to appear both self-evident and inherently meaningful in daily interactions. It explores a new methodological imaginary by drawing strategically from ethnomethodology and poststructural discourse analysis to examine the histories and the visions of power that rest beneath the surface of common-sense knowledge about race. Because common-sense knowledge links the production of meaning in local contexts to the broader production of cultural knowledge, it provides a key focal point for examining the dialogical relationship between the apparent agency of local practices and the efficacy of cultural discourse. The article concludes with implications for social research and social justice.