Jack Bilmes

Research

I am the author of Discourse and Behavior, The Structure of Meaning in Talk, and articles on various subjects, including microanalysis of verbal interaction, narrative, public policy, social theory, and Thai social organization and discourse. My current research is on what I call "occasioned semantics," focusing primarily on taxonomic relations and scaling in recorded, interactive talk. In general, the objective of occasioned semantics is to reveal how structures of meaning are developed, manifested, and negotiated in discourse.