The Goffman Reader

by Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman (1922-82) is considered to be among the greatest and most inventive of American sociologists. His works first appeared at a time when traditional, formal American sociology dominated the scene. They introduced fresh, new ideas and ways of thinking about the individual in the social world. Although Goffman is more often thought of as being grounded in symbolic interactionism, he was in fact the first to raise questions about the socially constructed self, the distinction between public identity versus the private self, the role of gender in society, and the study of public spaces. These themes remain of primary interest today, making Goffman one of the most influential thinkers in late twentieth-century social thought. For the first time in any collection, readers will have access to the complete development of Goffman's writing and thinking from his earliest, lesser-known works to his final masterpiece Felicity's Condition. Included in this collection are pieces from Goffman's classic works including Stigma, Asylums, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, and Forms of Talk.

Genres: Sociology, Anthropology, Academic, Nonfiction, Psychology

Paperback Bunko

First published July 14, 1997

About the author

Erving Goffman 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.

Reviews

[Angelica Sandström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Student literature in New York. Great book in sociology👨🏻‍🎓