Summary Of Erving Goffman's Dramaturgy

Dramaturgy is a sociological viewpoint commonly used to analyze social interactions and was first introduced in the book The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life. In this book, Erving Goffman, a Canadian-American sociologist and writer, uses the imagery of theater to portray the distinctions and significance of face-to-face social interaction. Goffman puts forth a theory of social interaction that he refers to as the dramaturgical model of social life. According to Goffman, social interaction may be likened to a theater and people in everyday life to actors on a stage, each playing a variety of roles. The audience consists of other individuals who observe the role-playing and react to the performances. In social interaction, like the
theatrical performances, there is a “front stage” region where the actos are on stage before an audience, and their consciousness of that audience and the audience’s expectations for the role they should play influence the actor’s behavior. There is also a back region, or “back stage,” where individuals can relax, be themselves, and the role or identity that they play when they are in front of others. Central to the book and Goffman’s theory is the idea that people, as they interact together in social settings, are constantly engaged in the process of “impression management,” wherein each tries to present themselves and behave in a way that will prevent the embarrassment of themselves or others. This is primarily done by each person that is part of the interaction working to ensure that all parties have the same “definition of the situation,” meaning that all understand what is meant to happen in the situation, what to expect from the others involved, and thus how they themselves should behave