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Title: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman ISBN: 0-385-09402-7 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 20 May, 1959 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Our play is the thing
Comment: While many had remarked previously on "life being a stage", Goffman brings home quite a few poignant points in comparing the way in which we present ourselves in everyday life with acting out roles in a play.
While reading Derbyshire's book on the Riemann hypothesis I came across an analysis of the working method of the great mathematician Gauss, in which the author quoted this book as a "minor psychology classic". Indeed, somewhere on the boundary between social psychology and sociology, Goffman gives us a still very relevant analysis of the intricacies of self presentation in the context of group behavior.
Based on the premise that in every context we present ourselves to others there is a performer(s)-audience relationship, the author equates the presentation of oneself as playing a part on a stage. He explores a variety of contexts and next analyzes the dynamics of group behavior.
While this book is half a century old and some of the social settings may be somewhat outdated and lack similarity to modern American life, I think much of the material has still a lot of relevance. Of particular interest was the section discussing the denigrating and sarcastic way that servants gossip behind the customers back, a process that unfailingly occurs behind the scene of any group interaction. It was too bad that the author maintained the rather descriptive approach of the book, without going into the underlying causes of repression and relieve.
Yet, in all, I considered this a well organized and focused analysis of the way we present ourselves to others, that may lack the hipness of the Greene's books "the 48 laws of power" or "the art of seduction", but has lost little of its relevance over the lat 50 years.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Must Read -- Really
Comment: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman truly is a "must read" book. Really. You learn about your own daily life -- that is good. But the "must" comes from the fact that this book influenced so many psychologists and sociologists who write today -- so go to the source to understand that foundation of contemporary social thought. And don't forget to enjoy the analysis of what people are acting when they go to the beach !!
Rating: 5
Summary: Life as Stage
Comment: Dr. Erving Goffman, after receiving his Ph.D. in 1953 at the University of Chicago, first published The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life as a monograph at the Social Sciences Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh in 1956. Published by Anchor Books in 1959, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life effectively elaborates on Thorstein Veblen's observations about the character of the Leisure Class. However, Goffman is particularly attentive to the performative and characteristic structure of society. With the idea that "the general notion that we make a presentation of ourselves to others," (252), Goffman's critical analysis of the individual and society illuminates Veblen's theory that the individual, aspiring to a higher social status, eventually becomes an emblem for that status. Goffman delves into the interaction within tightly-knit social fabrics, revealing that the substantive transition of the individual into society is not nearly as important as his/her "performance."
Entry into a tight social circle, according to Goffman, requires "wearing a look" to avoid betraying his true stance. Goffman notes social principles are guided by moral characteristics, which eventually support that individual in society.
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is not merely a refutation of the adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover" - Photographer Arthur Felig's (also known as WeeGee) 1943 photograph of two impeccably bedecked tiara-sporting society dames, glared at meanly by a crotchety woman, is apt to prompt anyone to pick up the text for a browse. Indeed, in Presenation's case, the photograph has a number of meanings in regard to the substance of the text. Those who "present" themselves in certain respects are often ignorant of the disparaging view they may elicit from others, but if these "others" remotely resemble the growling woman in the photograph, the performers most likely will not care. In addition to the splendid photo, Goffman offers a few little-known meanings of words often arising from society.
Whether the etymology of the word "tact" comes from society, Goffman effectively makes a case that it is a crucial maneuver in the swirling vortex of social circles. Throughout Presentation Goffman offers the point of view of "impression management" as a tool in studying social establishments, explicating them as actor on the proverbial stage. Impression Management serves to "prevent outsiders from coming into a performance that is not addressed to them."
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Title: Stigma : Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity by Erving Goffman ISBN: 0671622447 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 15 June, 1986 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Social Construction of Reality : A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge by Peter L. Berger, Thomas Luckmann, Thomas Luckmann ISBN: 0385058985 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 11 July, 1967 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Interaction Ritual by Erving Goffman ISBN: 0394706315 Publisher: Pantheon Books Pub. Date: 12 January, 1982 List Price(USD): $12.75 |
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Title: BEHAVIOR IN PUBLIC PLACES by Erving Goffman ISBN: 0029119405 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1966 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience by Erving Goffman, Bennett Berger ISBN: 093035091X Publisher: Northeastern University Press Pub. Date: December, 1997 List Price(USD): $22.50 |
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