The Presentation Of The Self By Irving Goffman - 1167 Words

The sociological concept ‘dramaturgy’, was developed by Irving Goffman (1922 – 1982) and initially used in his book The Presentation of the Self (1959). The concept was also a feature of subsequent works Behavior in Public Places (1963) and Interaction Rituals (1967), where the focus was on interaction and social scene rather than self-presentation and identity work. Dramaturgy uses the theatre as an extended metaphor to explain how people perform a variety of social roles, like actors in a play, and that society is made up of groups of players working together to up hold various social realities and functional institutions such as work, school, home, medical, legal or leisure. The two key components of this theory are ‘front and back’†¦show more content†¦Goffman proposed dramaturgical perspective as a fifth paradigm for understanding and analysing society and social reality, for other four being technical, political, structural and cultural . (1959:233). Which positions dramaturgy within the ‘Symbolic Interactionist’ school of thought (although it overlaps with cultural theories), as it analyses society at a micro level through people’s everyday actions and interactions from an outside perspective, in contrast to macro structural based theories. Dramaturgy can be considered a theory of methodology, rather than a theory of society, offering a transferrable, flexible framework for context and situation specific qualitative research such as ethnography, auto-ethnography, field research and focus groups. This approach can uncover hidden meanings of the social world, which can be cohabiting as well as conflicting and provide the human capacity for deception as well as trust, morality, resistance and conformity. The dramaturgical framework of analysis can be used to explain how and why people behave differently in different situations, the development of identity throughout the life course, cultural variations in meanings of signs and signifiers, as well as issues of social capital and power relations. As well as formations of individual and group identity including conformity as well as deviance and subculture. Dramaturgy also lends itself to issues of gender, class, education, cultural identity, ethnicity,Show MoreRelatedThe Presentation Of The Self By Irving Goffman1305 Words   |  6 PagesConcept note: Dramaturgy The sociological concept ‘dramaturgy’, developed by Irving Goffman (1922 – 1982), was initially used in his book The Presentation of the Self (1959). Dramaturgy uses the theatre as an extended metaphor to explain social interaction and social roles. Like actors in a play, people play roles, working together to up hold various social realities and functional institutions such as work, school, home, medical, legal or leisure. Key components of this theory are ‘front and back’Read MoreGoffman s Contributions On The Theory Of Social Stigma916 Words   |  4 PagesI have chosen to examine Irving Goffman’s contributions to the theory of social stigma, specifically through the perspectives presented in Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. My analysis of this work leads me to imagine communication as a mask, possessing the ability to shield the wearer’s actual social identity from observers. This metaphor has utility because it provides a concrete way to conceptualize a portion of the complex web of presentation and interpretations that accompanyRead MoreThe Sociological Perspective Of Dramaturgy Is Associated With Irving Goffman1041 Words   |  5 Pages The sociological perspective of dramaturgy is associated with Irving Goffman (1922 – 1982) who developed the concept in his book The Presentation Of The Self In Everyday Life (1959). Using theatre as an extended metaphor, dramaturgy explains the everyday interactions that uphold social reality. Life is like a play, and like actors in a play, people perform roles, working in teams to create the social world, like scenes in a play. This provides functional institutions of work, school, home, hospitalsRead MoreIn Defense Of Masks English 4 1559 Words   |  7 Pageson In Defense of Masks â€Å"In Defense of Masks†, by Kenneth Gergen regards that it is not possible for humans to adequately find a coherent self identity without an aftermath. Gergen states, â€Å"to the extent that they do, they many experience severe emotional distress† when trying to do so (172). He refers to Erik Erickson, a psychologist who speaks about how self-alienation can result due to the pressures of society to individuals with various masks of identity. Determined to find exactly what alteredRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 PagesPhenomenology reaches the emotions Ethnomethodology: understanding organizational ‘common sense’ Organizational symbolism The ways in which individuals develop a sense of self in organizations 282 282 284 286 287 288 288 293 294 298 300 301 . Contents xi The self as dramatic artful creation Negotiating the way between the self and the organization’s rules Developing the organizational identity Understanding organization culture through symbols Introduction – two ways of exploring culture