The Philosopher

Erving Goffman

The face

The background

Nationality:
Canadian-American
Schools:
Symbolic interactionism, Chicago school of sociology
Branchs:
Sociology, Social psychology, Social theory, Symbolic interaction, Dramaturgical analysis, Sociology of everyday life, Social interaction, Social construction of self, Frame analysis, Micro-sociology, Interaction order, Game theory, Linguistics, Ethnography, Conversation analysis
Period:
20th century

The synopsis

Erving Goffman (11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982) was a Canadian-born American sociologist, social psychologist, and writer, considered by some "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century". In 2007, *The Times Higher Education Guide* listed him as the sixth most-cited author of books in the humanities and social sciences. Goffman was the 73rd president of the American Sociological Association. His best-known contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic interaction. This took the form of dramaturgical analysis, beginning with his 1956 book *The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life*. Goffman's other major works include *Asylums* (1961), *Stigma* (1963), *Interaction Ritual* (1967), *Frame Analysis* (1974), and *Forms of Talk* (1981). His major areas of study included the sociology of everyday life, social interaction, the social construction of self, social organization (framing) of experience, and particular elements of social life such as total institutions and stigmas.

The works

The quotes

By definition, of course, we believe the person with a stigma is not quite human. On this assumption we exercise varieties of discrimination, through which we effectively, if often unthinkingly, reduce his life chances.
Erving Goffman
I assume that the proper study of interaction is not the individual and his psychology, but rather the syntactical relations among the acts of different persons mutually present to another.
Erving Goffman
The term stigma and its synonyms conceal a double perspective: does the stigmatized individual assume his differentness is known about already or is evident on the spot, or does he assume it is neither known about by those present nor immediately perceivable by them?
Erving Goffman
The routines of social intercourse in established settings allow us to deal with anticipated others without special attention or thought.
Erving Goffman
There is a close meshing with the ritual properties of persons and with the egocentric forms of territoriality.
Erving Goffman
When a stranger comes into our presence, then, first appearances are likely to enable us to anticipate his category and attributes, his 'social identity' - to use a term that is better than 'social status' because personal attributes such as 'honesty' are involved, as well as structural ones, like 'occupation.'
Erving Goffman