lecturer: dr. dan-bright s. dzorgbo, ug contact information: … · 2018. 3. 5. · topic one: the...

College of Education

School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 – 2016/2017

Lecturer: Dr. Dan-Bright S. Dzorgbo, UG Contact Information: [email protected]

Session Overview

Overview One of the most exciting modern symbolic interactionist is Erving Goffman. Goffman’s conception of the self is deeply indebted to Mead’s idea of the tension between “I”—the spontaneous self and the “Me” –the social constraint within the self. This is mirrored in Goffman’s (1959: 56) observation that what he sees as the “crucial discrepancy between our all-too-human selves and our socialized selves”. The tension is due to the difference between what people expect us to do and what we may want to spontaneously. In this session, we will be concerned with how we present ourselves in every day life to resolve this tension and various the techniques we use.

Goals and Objectives At the end of the session, the student will be able to: • Discover how we present ourselves in everyday life according to Goffman • Explain concepts such as dramaturgical approach, front, personal front, setting,

appearance, manner, mystification, team, front stage and back stage, • Other concepts are impression management, stigma, discredited stigma and

discreditable stigmaIdentify Erving Goffman.-the Dramaturgical approach • Provide an evaluation of Symbolic Interactionism

Dr. Dan-Bright S. Dzorgbo, Sociology Dept. UG Slide 2

Session Outline

The session is divided into the following:

• Topic One : The Dramaturgical Approach

• Topic Two: Impression Management

• Topic Three: Stigma

• Topic: Four: Application of symbolic Interactionism: Labeling Theory

• Topic Five : Evaluation of Symbolic Interactionism


Reading List

• Calhoun, Craig, Joseph Gerteis, James Moody, Seven Pfaff, and Idermohan Virk (2002). Contemporary Sociological Theory. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.

• • Cuff E. C., W. W. Sharrock & D. W. Francis (1990), Perspectives in Sociology. 3rd Edition. London:

Unwin Hyman • • Edles, Laura Desfor and Scott Appelrouth (2010). Sociological Theory in the contemporary era: Text

and readings. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Sage • • Farganis, James. (2011). Readings in Social Theory: The Classic Tradition to Post-Modernism. 6th

Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. • • Turner, Jonathan H. (1998). The Structure of Sociological Theory. 6th Edition. Belmont, CA:

Wadsworth Publishing Company. • • Ritzer, George (2008). Sociological Theory. 8th Edition or any newer or earlier editions. New York:

McGraw Hill. • • Wallace, Ruth A. and Alison Wolf (1995) Contemporary Sociological Theory: Continuing the Classical

Tradition. 4th Edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.


Topic One: The Dramaturgical Approach

• In his book “The Presentation of the self in Everyday Life” (1959), Goffman shows how Mead’s concept of the Self deliberately acts out “the discrepancy or the tension between the “I” and the “Me” or what Goffman views as the discrepancy between “our all-too-human selves” and “our actual selves”

• This what he calls the dramaturgical approach • Goffman perceives the self not as a possession of the actor but

rather as a product of the dramatic interaction between the actor and the audience

• The self is a dramatic effect arising from the scene that is presented

• Since the self is a product of dramatic interaction, it is vulnerable to disruption during performance thus Goffman’s dramaturgy is concerned with the processes by which such disturbances are prevented or managed


The Dramaturgical Approach (cont’d)

• It is usual that when individuals interact they seek to present a favourable image of themselves to those who are in the context of interaction. Goffman call this central concern “impression management”

• Interaction therefore becomes like a theatrical where individuals perform for their audiences

• Goffman spoke about “the front” that part of the performance that generally functions in rather fixed and general ways to define the situation for those who observe the performance



• Within the front stage Goffman distinguishes between “the setting” and “the personal front”

• The setting refers to the physical scene that ordinarily must be there if actors are to performance. Without it actors cannot perform. For example a lecturer requires a lecture theater or lecture room, a “trotro” driver a commercial vehicle, a carpenter requires a carpenter’s workshop, etc.

• The personal front consists of these expressive equipment that must be there or the audience identifies with the performers or expect them to carry with them into the setting. In the case of the lecturer, books, lecture notes, laptop for showing some slides, white board markers,



• Goffman also subdivided the personal front into “appearance” and “manner”

• Appearance includes those items that tell us the performer’s social status (e.g. the surgeon medical gown)

• Manner tells the audience what sort of role the performer expects to play in the situation, e.g. The use of physical mannerism, demeanor, etc. A brusque manner and a meek manner indicate quite different of performances.



Goffman saw society as a form of theatre where individuals in their interaction with others perform for them to make good impressions on others—impression managements People generally endeavor to present idealize picture of themselves in front of stage performances. They may hide secrets, and dirty work from and even mystify their audiences and by creating awe and social distances between them and their audiences

Goffman also discusses the front and back stage. Back stage is where we “hide” things from the audience and the front stage is where we presents perfect performance to impress those who we interact with. In the context of interaction those we interact with are our audiences and also we put of performances for them:



FRONT STAGE: This is where the actions or performances take place in the theater and the actions and performances must be executed perfectly to make for a good impressions on the audience BACK STAGE: This is where the preparation for the performances take place, where the rehearsals are done where the actors and actresses retire after performing. Here things can be done with mistakes, after all the audience cannot see. • Individuals also have front stages and back stages. The front stage is when they are in the context

of interaction so they must perform for their audience – hence individuals become performers and endeavour to make good impressions on others: through the manipulation of tone of voice, dresses, hair style, make ups, etc. Hence social interaction becomes drama—the dramaturgical approach to understand everyday life and human interaction

• Other examples: Individuals have front stages and back stages; the front stage of a restaurant is where customers sit to eat and so must be clean; the back stage is the kitchen where the various dishes are prepared, often filthy and hidden from the customers; the living and lavatories of the home are front stages, while bedrooms are back stages


Goffman and Stigma

• Stigma exists when there is a gap between what a person ought to be “virtual social identity” and what a person is “actual social identity”. Any one who has a gap between these two identities is stigmatized

• Discredited stigma—exist when everybody know about the gap e. g. a physically deformed person, knows that everybody knows about his condition

• Discreditable stigma—People do not know about the gap so information must be managed to keep it from being known. For example, a person who has HIV or AIDs that is not yet known to others.

• Stigma has symbolic meanings and affects interaction


Evaluation of Symbolic Interactionism

Praises for Interactionism:

• Sociologists using this perspective focuses on the specific, detailed aspects of personal everyday life

• The interactionist perspective provides an insight into the mechanics of everyday life

• It also have the advantage of revealing fundamental social processes that other perspectives easily overlook

Criticisms against Interactionism:

• Ignores the influence of the larger social structures on human behaviour


Conclusion: Comparing Functionalism, Conflict Theory and Interactionism

Like functionalism, Marxism and conflict theory, Symbolic Interaction brings to us an important way for viewing our everyday interaction. The perspective draws attention to the importance of micro-level social structures such as friendship networks, the family, and everyday interaction in determining human behaviour. Symbolic Interactionism helps us to understand what goes on in many dyadic and triadic relationships. For example, we get to know that some people like or do not like us not because they said something negative to us but how the acted towards us in interaction context. In the African world and to some extend the western developed people entering a romantically love situation are likely to use symbolic expressions, than the spoken word. For example in Ghana and many African countries if a boy gathers courage and verbally communicates his love interest in a girl to her, she is most likely to give the boy a negative or disinterested answer first. But this many times does not mean she is actually putting the boy off.


Conclusion: (cont’d)

Functionalists and conflict theorists— examine large-scale social structures (family, education, politics religion, etc.) and patterns in society. For example functionalism will examine how changes in family structure lead to teenage pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, school drop out, homelessness, etc. Or conflict theory will examine how conflict or upheaval in the political system lead to unemployment for the individual . These are all macro-level analyses because they examine large-scale social structures so functionalism and conflict theories are macro theories

Symbolic interactionists on the other hand examine small scale patterns and interactions in society. They would examine how everyday interactions and symbolic communications and meanings is generated in the local communities lead teenagers to be pregnant, delinquent, school drop-outs, or homeless. These are micro-level analysis so symbolic interactionism is a micro theory


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