Dr. Virginia Gill
Professor of Sociology Emerita
Sociology and Anthropology
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Research
Research Interests & Areas
I study social interaction in everyday and institutional settings, with a focus on the social organization of doctor-patient interaction. I have used Conversation Analysis to study medical encounters in a variety of contexts, including primary care and surgical settings. My current project concerns how surgeons and newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients discuss surgical treatment options.
Ph D Sociology
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
MS Sociology
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
BA Sociology with Honors
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, WI
2012-2013 Outstanding University Teacher Award
Illinois State University
2012
2006-2007 Outstanding College Teacher Award
College of Arts and Sciences, Illinois State University
2006
2000-2001 University Teaching Initiative Award
Illinois State University
2000
1997-1998 Outstanding Teacher
Panhellenic Association, Illinois State University
1997
University Excellence in Teaching Award
University of Wisconsin, Madison
1992
Department Teaching Award
Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison
1990
Teaching Fellow Award
College of Letters and Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison
1990
Book, Authored
Pilnick, A., J. Hindmarsh, and V.T. Gill (eds.) (2010). Communication in Healthcare Settings: Policy, Participation and New Technologies. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Book, Chapter
D.W. Maynard and V. T. Gill (2024). "Ethnomethodology, Conversation Analysis, and the Study of Interaction in Everyday Life". Pp. 512-540 in Jeffrey D. Robinson, Rebecca Clift, Kobin H. Kendrick, and Chase Wesley Raymond (Eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Methods in Conversation Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Clayman, S. and V.T. Gill, "Conversation analysis” (2023). Pp. 67-84 in Michael Handford and James Paul Gee (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis (Second Edition). NY, NY: Routledge.
Gill, V.T. and F. Roberts (2012). "Conversation analysis in medicine." Pp. 575-592 in J. Sidnell and T. Stivers (eds.) Handbook of Conversation Analysis. Oxford, UK:Wiley-Blackwell.
Halkowski, T. and V.T. Gill (2010). "Conversation analysis and ethnomethodology: The centrality of interaction." Pp. 212-228 in I. Bourgeault, R. Dingwall, and R. DeVries (eds.) Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research. London: Sage.
Pomerantz, A., V.T. Gill, and P. Denvir (2007). "When patients present serious health conditions as unlikely: Managing potentially conflicting issues and constraints." Pp. 127-146 in A. Hepburn and S. Wiggins (eds.) Discursive Research in Practice: New Approaches to Psychology and Interaction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Journal Article
Gill, V.T., (2019). "'Breast cancer won't kill ya in the breast': Broaching a rationale for chemotherapy during the surgical consultation for early-stage breast cancer." Patient Education and Counseling 102(2): 207-215.
Gill, V.T., A. Pomerantz, and P. Denvir (2010). "Preemptive resistance: Patients' participation in diagnostic sense-making activities." Sociology of Health and Illness 32 (1): 1-20.
Hudak, P., V.T. Gill, J. Aguinaldo, S. Clark, and R. Frankel (2010). "'I've heard wonderful things about you': How patients compliment surgeons." Sociology of Health and Illness 32 (5): 777-797.
Pilnick, A., J. Hindmarsh, and V.T. Gill (2009). "Beyond 'doctor and patient': Developments in the study of healthcare interactions." Sociology of Health and Illness 31 (6): 787-802.
Gill, V.T. (2005). "Patient 'demand' for medical interventions: Exerting pressure for an offer in a primary care clinic visit." Research on Language and Social Interaction 38 (4): 451-479.