Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman (1922–1982) was a Canadian-American sociologist who analyzed face-to-face interaction, social roles, and the ways people manage impressions in everyday life.

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life: Goffman’s 1956 book uses theatrical performance to explain how people present themselves in social encounters. This book introduced the dramaturgical approach that became his best-known framework.
Face-work: The actions people take to maintain their own face and that of others during interaction. Goffman used this term for the repair work that keeps encounters from breaking down.
University of Chicago: A private research university in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1890. Goffman studied sociology there, in an intellectual setting shaped by urban field research.
Everett C. Hughes: An American sociologist who studied occupations, institutions, and social relations at the University of Chicago. Hughes supervised Goffman’s doctoral work and influenced his attention to social worlds.
Symbolic interactionism: A sociological perspective that explains social life through meanings developed and negotiated in interaction. Goffman’s work became closely associated with this perspective, though his approach remained distinctive.
Dramaturgy (sociology): A sociological approach that treats social interaction as performance shaped by audiences, settings, and roles. Goffman developed this framework to explain how people manage impressions in ordinary encounters.
Interaction ritual: A patterned exchange that expresses and maintains social relations through interaction. Goffman showed how small courtesies and repairs function like rituals.
Chicago School (sociology): A tradition of sociology associated with the University of Chicago and empirical study of urban life. Its emphasis on observing social life helped shape Goffman’s approach to interaction.
Anselm Strauss: An American sociologist associated with symbolic interactionism and grounded theory. Strauss and Goffman belonged to overlapping Chicago interactionist circles, despite different styles.
Ethnomethodology: The study of the practical methods people use to make social situations intelligible and orderly. Its influence and differences show how Goffman’s focus on encounters fits among interactional approaches.

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