The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

Name: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Rating: 3.5 (5 reviews)

ISBN-10: 0241547997
ISBN-13: 9780241547991
Series: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Category: Self-presentation
Pages: 256
Language: English
Published: 2022-05-05
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Author: Erving Goffman

Description

Acclaimed on first publication and today considered one of the defining works of the sociology, The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life is Erving Goffman's extraordinary analysis of the structure of our social interactions. Blurring the line between workaday life and theatrical performance, Goffman argues that our behaviour with others is defined by how we wish to be perceived - resulting in displays bearing a startling similarity to those of an actor on the stage. From the houses and clothes that we use as 'fixed props' to the 'backstage' of the solitude in which our personas are rehearsed and relaxed, Goffman's insight reveals human character to be not fixed or stable, but liquid and consciously maintained.