SOCI 2040 6.0G Sociological Theory
TA: Jonathan Adjemian
Nick Kozlowski

Symbolic Interactionnalism and Dramaturgy: Goffman and Russel Hochschild

Goffman is known for the development of dramaturgy, which approaches social life in the sense one would observe a play. When individuals meet, they read each other’s information to bring preconceived understanding into play. Information they are interested in are general socio-economic status, their conception of self, attitude, competence, trustworthiness, etc. Information about the individual is obtained so that the situation can be defined, allowing prediction of what will happen next, and to understand the situation. The term performance refers to all activity of an individual that is observed by an “audience”. The individual gives meaning to themselves through this performance as well as giving impressions to others, which are them reflected back to the individual. For example, a teacher who gives a poor lecture may reflect on himself through the bored reaction of his students. Setting is where such an interaction takes place, different settings have different actors which may lead an individual to act differently. We act differently around friends then we would in a professional workplace, or may act differently based simply on who is present. Appearance is meant to portray to the audience the performer’s social status, social state or role, which can be determined by uniform, gender, age, etc. Goffman describes 3 different stages for performance: front stage, back stage, and off stage. Front stage is the formal presentation of an actor. Backstage is the natural personality performance in front of the audience. Off stage is where the actor meets and interacts with the audience.
Goffman also believed that all participants in social interactions are engaged in certain practices to avoid being embarrassed or embarrassing others.