Analyzing Context

The framing of this special issue was influenced by the conversation analytic (CA) position on context. Taking a clear stance that argues for a restricted use of context in analysis, the CA position became the one that authors positioned their views in relation to either drawing out novel implications of a CA commitment or arguing why a CA perspective on context was problematic. In each article, a claim about context is advanced in the context of a particular kind of talk or text. The six articles in this issue form three definable sets: two articles that draw on context as background in a straightforward manner, two that do considerable work to get the concept of context to behave, and two that in one way or another reverse what is focal in dominant definitions. By offering two frames to reflect about the articles, as well as providing the initial conference conversation that stimulated the articles in this special issue, the contributors seek to enliven and advance the next round of thought, talk, and writing about context.