Erving Goffman

Biography

Erving Goffman (1922–1982) was a Canadian-American sociologist whose fresh approach to studying social interaction significantly changed sociology. Born in Mannville, Alberta, Goffman developed theories on how people present themselves in everyday interactions, making him one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century. He combined ideas from anthropology, psychology, and sociology, introducing new ways to understand people's behavior in social settings.

Goffman started his education at St. John's High School, then studied at the University of Manitoba and the University of Toronto. He completed his education at the University of Chicago, where he was influenced by the Chicago School's focus on fieldwork and symbolic interaction. For his doctoral research, he conducted fieldwork in the Shetland Islands, examining the social dynamics of a small rural community. This hands-on approach became a hallmark of his later work, as he used anthropological methods to study modern urban life and institutions.

His 1956 book, 'The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life,' introduced the idea of using theater metaphors to describe social interactions, explaining how people play different roles in different situations. This concept changed how people understood social interaction, showing how individuals manage their public image through what he called 'front stage' and 'backstage' actions. Goffman's later works, like 'Asylums' (1961), 'Stigma' (1963), and 'Frame Analysis' (1974), further explored topics like total institutions, social deviance, and how people organize experiences.

During his career, Goffman taught at various universities and received significant recognition for his work in social theory. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship and was the 73rd president of the American Sociological Association. In his personal life, he was married to Angelica Schuyler Choate and later to Gillian Sankoff. Goffman passed away in Philadelphia in 1982, leaving behind a large body of work that still impacts sociological research and theory. His writings are still widely cited across many subjects, with The Times Higher Education Guide ranking him as the sixth most-cited author in humanities and social sciences as of 2007.