ERVING GOFFMAN

Erving Goffman was born June 11, 1922,

in Alberta, Canada. His parents, Max and
Anne Goffman, were Ukrainian Jews who
emigrated to Canada prior to his birth.
After his parents moved to Manitoba,
Goffman attended St. John's Technical
High School in Winnipeg, and in 1939 he
began his university studies in chemistry at
the University of Manitoba. Goffman later
switched to studying sociology at the
University of Toronto and completed his
B.A. in 1945. Goffman enrolled at the
University of Chicago for graduate school
and completed a Ph.D. in sociology in
1953. Trained in the tradition of the Chicago School of Sociology,
Goffman conducted ethnographic research and studied symbolic
interaction theory. Among his major influences were Herbert Blumer,
Talcott Parsons, Georg Simmel, Sigmund Freud, and Émile Durkheim.
Erving Goffman was a major Canadian. American sociologist who
played a significant role in the development of modern American
sociology. He is considered by some to be the most influential
sociologist of the 20th century, thanks to his many significant and
lasting contributions. He was died in 1982.
Famous books of Erving Goffman;
i. The presentation o self in everyday life(1956)
ii. Stigma; notes on the management (1963)
 iii. Asylums (1961)
According to Goffman ; The ideas, values, and beliefs of a society
can be understood through the behavior of individuals. Goffman
was a sociologist who viewed society through the symbolic
interaction perspective; this perspective looks at the everyday
behavior and interactions between people to help explain society.

His contribution to Sociology

1. Dramaturgy
i. Front Stage
ii. Back stage
iii.Out stage
2. Impression Management
3. Face work
4. Role Distance
5. My Stfication
6. Frame Analysis
7. Stigma

Dramaturgy
Dramaturgy is a sociological perspective commonly used in micro-
sociological accounts of social interaction in everyday life. In
 dramaturgical sociology, it is argued that the elements of human
interactions are dependent upon time, place, and audience. In other
words, to Goffman, the self is a sense of who one is, a dramatic effect
emerging from the immediate scene being presented. Goffman forms
a theatrical metaphor in defining the method in which one human
being presents itself to another based on cultural values, norms, and
beliefs. Performances can have disruptions (actors are aware of such),
but most are successful. The goal of this presentation of self is
acceptance from the audience through carefully conducted
performance. If the actor succeeds, the audience will view the actor as
he or she wants to be viewed.
i. Front Stage
Within society, individuals are expected to present themselves in a
certain way; however, when a person goes against the norm, society
tends to notice. Therefore, individuals are expected to put on a
costume and act differently when in front of the 'audience'. Goffman
noticed this habit of society and developed the idea of front stage.
The personal front is divided into two different aspects.
1. Appearance; which refers to the items of the personal front that
are a reflection of the actor's social status.
2. Manners; which refers to the way an actor conducts themselves.
The actor's manner tells the audience what to expect from their
performance.
2. Back stage
In The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman explains that the
back stage is where "the performer can relax; he can drop his front,
forgo speaking in his lines, and step out of character." When the
individual returns to the back stage, they feel a sense of relief knowing
the actions that would not be condoned .
3.Out stage
Outside, or off-stage, is the place where individuals who are outsiders
are not involved in the performance (although they may not be aware of
it). The off-stage is where individual actors meet the audience members
independently of the team performance on the front stage. Specific
performances may be given when the audience is segmented as such.

Impression Management
Impression management is a conscious or subconscious process in which
people attempt to influence the perceptions of other people about a
person, object or event by regulating and controlling information in
social interaction. Impression management behaviors include accounts
(providing "explanations for a negative event to escape disapproval"),
excuses (denying "responsibility for negative outcomes"), and opinion
conformity ("speaking) or behaving) in ways consistent with the target"),
along with many others. Impression management behaviors include
accounts (providing "explanations for a negative event to escape
disapproval"), excuses (denying "responsibility for negative outcomes"),
and opinion conformity ("speaking) or behaving) in ways consistent
with the target"), along with many others.

Face work
According to Goffman, face-work needs to be done in order to avoid and
correct misleadings of face. Face-work is hence divided into two
processes: In order to avoid a threat to one's face, one introduces
different avoidance processes. These include the avoidance of both
potential face-threatening situations and people. Facework consists in
part of certain communications acts that build, protect, or threaten the
face of self or other.

Role Distance
Role distance is Goffman's term for “actions which effectively convey
some disdainful detachment of the [real life] performer from a role he is
performing.”8 And the author's subsequent discussion of this subject
throws light upon the signifier (theatre) as well as the signified (life).
Examples of Role Distancing. When an employee must fire fellow
employees and says “I am just doing my job.” A server in a restaurant
will remind customers that they are not only a server but also an artist or
student.

My Stfication
Mystification is the process of masking or covering up central aspects of
society or of social relationships. Mystification refers to the concealment
of certain information from the audience, whether to increase the
audience's interest in the user or to avoid divulging information which
could be damaging to the performer. Mystification allows for
domination that is not based on evident coercion or force, but is
maintained by a wide variety of social institutions and cultural values.
Mystification is the seventh element identified by Erving Goffman in his
Dramaturgical Model.

Frame Analysis
Frame analysis (also called framing analysis) is a multi-disciplinary
social science research method used to analyze how people understand
situations and activities. Frame analysis looks at images, stereotypes,
metaphors, actors, messages, and more. It examines how important these
factors are and how and why they are chosen. Framing theory and frame
analysis is a broad theoretical approach that has been used in
communication studies, news politics, and social movements among
other applications. "Framing is the process by which a communication
source, such as a news organization, defines and constructs a political
issue or public controversy. Frame analysis is usually done in regard to
news media. However, framing is inevitable, as everyone does it. It can
speed up the process of interpretation as well as writing and presenting
the news. People just may not realize they are using frames. When
people are aware that they are using framing, there are several
techniques that can be used. These may include: metaphor, stories,
tradition, slogan, jargon, catchphrase, artifact, contrast or spin.

Social Stigma
Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an
individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to
distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are
commonly related to culture, gender, race, socioeconomic class, age,
sexual orientation, body image, physical disability, intelligence or lack
thereof, and health. Some stigma may be obvious, while others are
known as concealable stigmas that must be revealed through disclosure.
Stigma can also be against oneself, stemming from negatively viewed
personal attributes in a way that can result in a "spoiled identity.