In Memoriam: Aaron Cicourel

Professor Aaron Cicourel, a long-time member of the ISSI community, passed away in 2023 at the age of 94. His obituary gives a glimpse into his remarkable academic achievements as one of the foremost ethnomethodologists in the world, as well as his life story, going from a struggling working-class childhood, to first generation college student, to tenured faculty member. We were fortunate to have him in residence at the institute after he retired from UC San Diego and moved to Berkeley. He continued to conduct research into his 90’s, while always making time to give detailed, generous and constructive feedback to our faculty and students. He was a regular attendee at our events, where we could count on him to ask questions about methodology that opened up new perspectives.