Summary
Overview
Key Readings
Erving Goffman (1922-82) was an inspirational thinker, and one of the giants of 20th century sociology. Several of his books, notably The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959), Asylums (1961), Relations in Public (1963), Stigma (1963) and Gender Advertisements (1979) are acknowledged as modern classics. Goffman fundamentally revised how we think of social life. After him, the study of social encounters, behavior in public, the construction and deconstruction of the self, stigma and forms of everyday communication, were never the same again.
Without being obviously attached to any discrete research tradition, Goffman drew from the best thought on social interaction, applied it in his fieldwork, and produced a richly satisfying and extraordinarily influential approach to making sense of social life. He was a sociological virtuoso, ...
Introduction
Erving Goffman continues to exercise the sociological imagination. While perhaps not as broad or subtle a theorist as Durkheim, Simmel, Marx, or Weber, the images and slogans of this scholar have become an integral part of the discipline. The dramaturgical metaphor has become sociology's second skin. His writings provide the locus classicus for a number of central sociological concepts, including impression management, face-work, footing, total institution, stigma and role distance. He was a major sociologist who also enjoyed a significant profile outside his home discipline. Erving Goffman was arguably the most influential American1 sociologist of the twentieth century.
While this appraisal would be accepted by many, two additional features are also widely acknowledged. First, Goffman himself can hardly be considered a conventional ...
Table of Contents
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Volume I
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Personal Reminiscences
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1. Erving Goffman: Discoverer of the Infinitely Small
Pierre Bourdieu
1983
Theory, Culture and Society
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2. Erving Goffman: A Personal Appreciation
Allen Grimshaw
1983
Language in Society
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Dean MacCannell
1983
Semiotica
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4. The Importance of Being Erving: Erving Goffman, 1922–1982
P. Strong
1983
Sociology of Health and Illness
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Dell Hymes
1984
Theory and Society
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6. Role Models and Role Distance: A Remembrance of Erving Goffman
Gary Marx
1984
Theory and Society
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7. The Passing of Intellectual Generations: Reflections on the Death of Erving Goffman
Randall Collins
1986
Sociological Theory
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Robert Erwin
1992
The Centennial Review
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Biography and Career
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9. Erving Goffman: His Presentation of Self
Judith Posner
1978
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
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10. Erving Goffman and the Academic Community
Mark Oromaner
1980
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
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11. Rebuttal to Oromaner Paper
Judith Posner
1980
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
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12. Vicissitudes of the Sacred
Paul Creelan
1984
Theory and Society
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13. Erving Goffman's Sociological Legacies
John Lofland
1981
Urban Life
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14. A View from the Fort: Erving Goffman as Canadian
Gaile McGregor
1986
Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology
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15. Baltasound as the Symbolic Capital of Social Interaction
Yves Winkin
1992
Baltasound as the Symbolic Capital of Social Interaction
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16. An Interview with Erving Goffman, 1980
Jef Verhoeven
1993
Research on Language and Social Interaction
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Goffman's Sociology and Modern Society
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17. Erving Goffman
Laurie Taylor
1968
New Society
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18. Other Symptoms of the Crisis: Goffman's Dramaturgy and Other New Theories
Alvin Gouldner
1970
The Coming Crisis of Western Sociology
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19. The Politics of Sociology: Gouldner, Goffman, and Garfinkel
T. Young
1971
The American Sociologist
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20. Weird but Brilliant Light on the Way We Live Now
Marshall Berman
1972
The New York Times
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21. A Fan Letter on Erving Goffman
Bennett Berger
1973
Dissent
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22. Erving Goffman et le Temps du Soupçon
Luc Boltanski
1973
Social Science Information
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23. The Underworld-View of Erving Goffman
Alan Dawe
1973
British Journal of Sociology
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24. Two on the Aisle
Richard Sennett
1973
New York Review of Books
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25. The Decline of Civility: A Comment on Erving Goffman's Sociology
Peter Manning
1976
Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology
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26. Cold Sweat
Alan Bennett
1994
Writing Home
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Volume II
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Goffman's Sociology and Modern Society
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27. Embarrassment and Erving Goffman's Idea of Human Nature
Michael Schudson
1984
Theory and Society
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28. Ethics as Etiquette: The Emblematic Contribution of Erving Goffman
Laura Bovone
1993
Theory, Culture and Society
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Methods
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29. Self and the Revolt Against Method†
Daniel Foss
1972
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
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30. Resemblances
Phil Manning
1989
History of the Human Sciences
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31. Understanding Goffman's Methods
Robin Williams
1988
Erving Goffman: Exploring the Interaction Order
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32. Stating the Obvious: What Does Erving Goffman Really Tell Us?
Frank Cioffi
1992
The Times Literary Supplement
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Textuality
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33. An Appreciation of Sociological Tropes: A Tribute to Erving Goffman
Robin Williams
1983
Theory, Culture and Society
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34. Sociology, Rhetoric and Personal Communication
Ricca Edmondson
1984
Rhetoric in Sociology
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Paul Atkinson
1989
Human Studies
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36. A Partisan View: Sarcasm, Satire, and Irony as Voices in Erving Goffman's Asylums
Gary Fine | Daniel Martin
1990
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
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37. Erving Goffman: Writing the End of Ethnography
Patricia Clough
1992
The End(s) of Ethnography: From Realism to Social Criticism
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38. Autonomy and Credibility: Voice as Method
Ira Cohen | Mary Rogers
1995
Sociological Theory
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39. Reading Goffman on Interaction
Rod Watson
1999
Goffman and Social Organization: Studies in a Sociological Legacy
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Central Sociological Concerns
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Interaction
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40. Life as Theater: Some Notes on the Dramaturgic Approach to Social Reality
Sheldon Sampson | Robert Towne
1962
Sociometry
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Deborah Schiffrin
1977
American Sociological Review
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42. Couple Tie-Signs and Interpersonal Threat: A Field Experiment
Gary Fine | Jeffrey Stitt | Michael Finch
1984
Social Psychology Quarterly
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43. The Interaction Order Sui Generis: Goffman's Contribution to Social Theory
Anne Rawls
1987
Sociological Theory
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44. Analyzing Gender in Public Places: Rethinking Goffman's Vision of Everyday Life
Carol Gardner
1989
The American Sociologist
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45. Goffman's Attitude and Social Analysis
N. Hartland
1994
Human Studies
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46. Goffman and Interactional Citizenship
Paul Colomy | J. Brown
1996
Sociological Perspectives
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47. Spontaneous Involvement and Social Life
James Ostrow
1996
Sociological Perspectives
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Self
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Alasdair MacIntyre
1969
New Statesman
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49. Maximising, Moralising and Dramatising
Alan Ryan
1978
Action and Interpretation: Studies in the Philosophy of the Social Sciences
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50. Character is the Fundamental Illusion
Thomas Hood
1984
Quarterly Journal of Ideology
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51. Goffman, Positivism and the Self
Thomas Miller
1986
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
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52. Strangers to Themselves: How Interactants Are Other Than They Are
Andrew Travers
1992
British Journal of Sociology
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Volume III
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Central Sociological Concerns
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Self
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53. Is the Presented Self Sincere? Goffman, Impression Management and the Postmodern Self
Efrat Tseëlon
1992
Theory, Culture and Society
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54. Toward a Sociology of the Person
Spencer Cahill
1998
Sociological Theory
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Frames
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55. On Goffman's Frame Analysis
Fredric Jameson
1976
Theory and Society
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56. Frame Analysis of Plea Bargaining
Douglas Maynard
1984
Inside Plea Bargaining
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Raymond Schmitt
1985
Sociological Inquiry
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58. Frame Paralysis: When Time Stands Still
Avery Sharron
1981
Social Research
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59. Incidents, Accidents, Failures: The Representation of Negative Experience in Public Entertainment
Paul Bouissac
1990
Beyond Goffman: Studies on Communication, Institution, and Social Interaction
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60. Reading Goffman's Framing as Provocation of a Discipline
Lawrence Hazelrigg
1992
Human Studies
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Stigma, Mental Illness and Total Institutions
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61. Goffman's Model of Mental Illness
Miriam Siegler | Humphry Osmond
1971
British Journal of Psychiatry
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62. The Two Cultures and the Total Institution
Nicholas Perry
1974
British Journal of Sociology
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Roger Peele | Paul Luisada | Mary Lucas | Diane Rudisell | Debra Taylor
1977
American Journal of Psychiatry
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64. Psycho-Medical Dualism: The Case of Erving Goffman
Peter Sedgwick
1982
Psycho Politics
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65. Goffman, Interactionism, and the Management of Stigma in Everyday Life
Simon Williams
1987
Sociological Theory and Medical Sociology
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66. Goffman's Concept of the Total Institution: Criticisms and Revisions
Christie Davies
1989
Human Studies
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67. Goffman's Asylums and the Social Control of the Mentally Ill
William Gronfein
1992
Perspectives on Social Problems
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68. Goffman's Asylums and the Total Institution Model of Mental Hospitals
Raymond Weinstein
1994
Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes
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Goffman and the Classical Tradition
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69. Erving Goffman and the Development of Modern Social Theory
Randall Collins
1980
The View From Goffman
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70. The Degradation of the Sacred: Approaches of Cooley and Goffman
Paul Creelan
1987
Symbolic Interaction
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71. Snapshots ‘Sub Specie Aeternitatis': Simmel, Goffman and Formal Sociology
Gregory Smith
1989
Human Studies
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72. Park, Doyle, and Hughes: Neglected Antecedents of Goffman's Theory of Ceremony
Gary Jaworski
1996
Sociological Inquiry
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73. Georg Simmel and Erving Goffman: Legitimators of the Sociological Investigation of Human Experience
Murray Davis
1997
Qualitative Sociology
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Volume IV
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Goffman and his Contemporaries
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74. Action vs. Interaction: Relations in Public — Microstudies of the Public Order by Erving Goffman
Herbert Blumer
1972
Society
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75. Essential Features of Face-to-Face Interaction
George Psathas | Frances Waksler
1973
Phenomenological Sociology: Issues and Applications
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76. “Situation” Versus “Frame”: The “Interactionist” and the “Structuralist” Analyses of Everyday Life
George Gonos
1977
American Sociological Review
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77. Sincerity and Politics: ‘Existentialists’ vs. Goffman and Proust
J. Hall
1977
The Sociological Review
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78. Frame Analysis Reconsidered
Norman Denzin | Charles Keller
1981
Contemporary Sociology
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79. A Reply to Denzin and Keller
Erving Goffman
1981
Contemporary Sociology
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80. ‘L'Enfer, c'est les Autres': Goffman's Sartrism
P. Ashworth
1985
Human Studies
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81. Goffman as a Systematic Social Theorist
Anthony Giddens
1988
Erving Goffman: Exploring the Interaction Order
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82. Goffman and the Analysis of Conversation
Emanuel Schegloff
1988
Erving Goffman: Exploring the Interaction Order
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83. Ritual Talk
Phil Manning
1989
Sociology
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Helmut Kuzmics
1991
Theory, Culture and Society
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85. Habermas, Goffman, and Communicative Action: Implications for Professional Practice
James Chriss
1994
American Sociological Review
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86. Goffman in Feminist Perspective
Candace West
1996
Sociological Perspectives
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Goffman's Influences on Successors
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87. Erving Goffman's Sociology as a Semiotics of Postmodern Culture
Heinz-Günter Vester
1989
Semiotica
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88. Alienation and Everyday Life: Goffman Meets Marx at the Shopping Mall
Lauren Langman
1991
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
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Thomas Holtgraves
1992
Social Psychology Quarterly
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90. Goffman Against Postmodernism: Emotion and the Reality of the Self
Michael Schwalbe
1998
Symbolic Interaction
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91. Following Goffman, Following Durkheim into the Public Realm
Spencer Cahill
1994
Research in Community Sociology
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