Erving Goffman

Author profile

born

in Mannville, Alberta, Canada

June 11, 1922

died

November 19, 1982

gender

male

genre

Sociology, Psychology

influences

George Herbert Mead, Herbert Blumer

About this author

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Erving Goffman (June 11, 1922 – November 19, 1982) was a Canadian-born sociologist and writer.

Considered "the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century" (Fine, Manning, and Smith 2000:ix), as a subjective analyst, Goffman's greatest contribution to social theory is his study of symbolic interaction in the form of dramaturgical analysis that began with his 1959 book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Goffman's other areas of study included social order and interaction, impression management, total institutions, social organization of experience, and stigmas. Some of the influences on his works include Durkheim, Freud, Mead, Radcliffe-Brown, and Simmel.

In 2007 Goffman was listed as the 6th most-cited intellectual...more

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Erving Goffman's Books

Average rating: 4.07 · 2,813 ratings · 163 reviews · 24 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 1,343 ratings — published 1959 — 19 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 639 ratings — published 1963 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 361 ratings — published 1961 — 14 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Interaction Ritual - Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 153 ratings — published 1967 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 110 ratings — published 1974 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Behavior in Public Places 4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 84 ratings — published 1966 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Goffman Reader by Erving Goffman (Editor), Charles C. Lemert, Ann Branaman 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 1997 — 2 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Forms of Talk by Erving Goffman, Dell Hymes (Editor) 3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 32 ratings — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gender Advertisements 4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 24 ratings — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Relations in Public 3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1971 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Erving Goffman

“And to the degree that the individual maintains a show before others that he himself does not believe, he can come to experience a special kind of alienation from self and a special kind of wariness of others.”
― Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

17 people liked it

“Approved attributes and their relation to face make every man his own jailer; this is a fundamental social constraint even though each man may like his cell.”
― Erving Goffman

10 people liked it

“Perhaps the individual is so viable a god because he can actually understand the ceremonial significance of the way he is treated, and quite on his own can respond dramatically to what is proffered him. In contacts between such deities there is no need for middlemen; each of these gods is able to serve as his own priest.”
― Erving Goffman, Interaction Ritual - Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior

tags: ceremony, deference, interaction, rituals

5 people liked it

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Erving Goffman

Author profile

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Quotes by Erving Goffman

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Erving Goffman's Books