The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman (1922-1983) was born in Manville, Alberta, Canada. In 1953, he received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago. Goffman was also a professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley, and the Benjamin Franklin Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Before his death in 1983, he received the MacIver Award (1961), the In Medias Res Award (1978), and was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Goffman has been noted as the most important American sociological theorist in the second half of the twentieth century. In 1963, Goffman published Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity to illustrate the lives of stigmatized†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, there are two types of people in the world—those who are stigmatized, and those who are â€Å"normal.† Goffman defines â€Å"normals† as being without stigma, and easily accepted in society. Stigma focuses on the interactions between these individuals within social settings. During these interactions, if a person’s stigma is plainly known and seen, the person may be considered discredited. There are â€Å"symbols† used during interactions that convey social information. There are both â€Å"prestige symbols† and stigma symbols, which can convey high status or identity discrepancies. Who one associates themselves with also reflects one’s social identity, conveying that individual’s social identity. Throughout the book, Goffman demonstrates a divide that occurs between the â€Å"us† and â€Å"them.† As explained by Goffman, stigmatized individuals are not quite human. The stigmatized individual,Show MoreRelatedThe Presentation Of Self And Everyday Life By Erving Goffman1742 Words   |  7 Pagesothers to see them. In the book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Erving Goffman writes in detail how individuals make use of different techniques to set their own stage and portray traits and interests of who they are or who they want to be. One such way of portraying ourselves to others is using impression management to control the impressions we give to others and how others see the impressions we give off. These can be found on what is considered by Goffman to be the front stage, a placeRead MoreThe Presentation Of Self In Everyday Life By Erving Goffman Analysis1640 Words   |  7 PagesIn Erving Goffman’s book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday L ife, he bases his literature and knowledge off of dramatological theories. According to Goffman, an individual appearing before others is a performer appearing before his or her audience. These performers have many motives to put on an act enabling the possibility to control their impressions given off in their performance. He then furthers his belief within a given setting, there is no true self. On the contrary to Goffman’s work, JuliaRead MoreThe Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman955 Words   |  4 PagesIn his book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Goffman (1959) focuses on the self as a staged production in which people actively present themselves to different audiences one encounters. To bolster his conceptualization, Goffman used an interesting metaphor of â€Å"all the world’s a stage† (1959, 254). This, he terms as a â€Å"dramaturgical approach† (Goffman 1959, 240) in which an actor puts on a show for others; draw ing analogies between human behaviors and the theater. Goffman (1959) likens theRead MoreEssay on Presentation of Self710 Words   |  3 PagesWriting Assignment 3 DSSAE100J December 3, 2010 The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life â€Å"When an individual enters the presence of others, they commonly seek to acquire†¨information about him or to bring into play information about him already possessed. They†¨will be interested in his general socio-economic status, his conception of self, his attitude†¨towards them, his competence, his trustworthiness, etc. Although some of this information is†¨sought as an end in itself, there are usually quiteRead MoreIdentity Management, Concepts, And Definitions1734 Words   |  7 Pagesfacing or presenting self, in which one manipulates their perceived image for others to discern. The concept of identity management can also effect other arenas such as professional communication in the work place and school. Similarly its effects can be perceived in the larger stage of public relations for important persons and celebrities. Identity management theory was developed on the works of Erving Goffman. It is understood that the identity management theory me ntions Goffman s contributionsRead MoreSocial Interaction: Goffman and the Social Experiment779 Words   |  4 PagesSocial Interaction: Goffman and the Social Experiment In â€Å"The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life†, Erving Goffman expresses his views on social interaction, analyzing many different key aspects that formulate an individual’s role and manner throughout the act of expressing himself in the presence of others. Goffman compares the difference between â€Å"the expression that he gives, and the expression that he gives off†, explaining that these two concepts involve significantly differing actions, butRead MoreEssay on Presentation of Self Claim522 Words   |  3 PagesErving Goffman’s Presentation of Self Claim Erving Goffman was a sociologist who studied and analyzed social interaction. He took special interest in explaining how people live their lives as if they were actors performing on stage. He looked at the world as if he were a â€Å"director† seeing what goes on in everyday life. He called this observation of the world dramaturgical analysis. He applied terms to this explanation, which include the concepts of status and role. He referred the â€Å"part in a play†Read MoreGoffman s Theory Of Sociology And Anthropology1549 Words   |  7 PagesNovember 2014 Erving Goffman INTRODUCTION Erving Goffman was born in Mannville, Alberta on June 11, 1922. He was born to his Ukrainian Jewish parents, Max and Ann. They were part of the Ukrainians that migrated to Canada between 1897 and 1914. He and his sister, Frances, were raised in Dauphin, near Winnipeg. Goffman attended St. John’s Technical High School. He showed an interest in chemistry and went on to study chemistry at the University of Manitoba in 1939. In 1943 and 1944 Goffman worked at theRead MoreSocial Order (Foucault and Goffman)1463 Words   |  6 PagesThis essay will examine two views on social order, applied to social sciences, and embodied in everyday life. It will compare and contrast a Canadian sociologist, Erving Goffman, and a French philosopher, Michel Foucault. Through an analysis of these two figures, the text will present different ways of looking at social ordering and individuals place in a human society. Firstly, it will be shown how Goffman and Foucault approach the subject of social order, finding patterns of behaviour in micro andRead MoreEssay on Dramaturgical Analysis1185 Words   |  5 Pagesand all the men and women merely players.† William Shakespeare may have written these words in As You Like It in 1600, but Erving Goffman truly defined the phrase with his dramaturgical theory. Dramaturgical analysis is the study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance. Unlike actors though , who use a script telling them how to behave in every scene, real life human interactions change depending upon the social situation they are in. We may have an idea of how we want to be perceived

Discuss the value of chemistry in society Free Essays

For some time in the modern world, and especially subsequent to the events of September 11th, there has been a wave of concern regarding chemistry and its potential destructive powers. There are many people who hold a fearful attitude towards the chemical industry and its products. This is because the threat of chemical and bio-chemical weapons is very real and is a negative aspect of the business. We will write a custom essay sample on Discuss the value of chemistry in society or any similar topic only for you Order Now Also it is often deemed environmentally unfriendly and unsafe for the nearby public. However it is far wider believed that the pros outweigh the cons massively. To display this I have produced a case study on Glaxo Smith Kline. Read this Practice Test Chem 105 Background Glaxo Smith Kline, based in the UK, is one of the pharmaceutical industry leaders, with an estimated seven per cent of the world’s pharmaceutical market and declare a global quest to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. This shows just how people based the company is despite its huge size. GSK is also involved in four major therapeutic areas – anti-infectives, central nervous system (CNS), respiratory and gastro-intestinal/metabolic. In addition, it is a leader in the important area of vaccines and has a growing range of oncology products and treatments. The company also has a Consumer Healthcare section comprising over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, oral care products and nutritional healthcare drinks, all of which are among the market leaders. Employees and Employment GSK GSK has over 100,000 employees worldwide. Of these, over 40,000 are in sales and marketing, the largest sales force in the industry. Over 42,000 employees work at 104 manufacturing sites in 40 countries and over 16,000 are in R;D. R;D is based at 24 sites in seven countries. The company has a leading position in genomics/genetics and new drug discovery technologies. The GSK R;D budget is about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.4bn. Implications This shows that the industry is a great employer for many job types, including lab technicians, researchers, doctors, I.T. staff, biologists and others. It also employs testers for development of drugs and measure side effects on human patients. This is where much of the development money goes as the patients are only willing to be test subjects for quite large fees due to the potentially harmful side effects. Health and Safety GSK They take health and safety really seriously as GSK. Because a lot of the work that goes on involves highly flammable organic solvents, no heating is done with naked flames (there is only one Bunsen burner in the entire plant, and that is used by the glass blower for shaping pieces of glassware.) In the research labs heating will be done using electric mantles or electrically heated oil baths. However, in the ‘scale-up’ plant, where large volumes of soluble materials are used, even electrical heating is not allowed because of the danger of sparks. Instead they heat vessels by passing a pre-heated liquid through an outer jacket around the vessel. No mobile phones or any electrical equipment are allowed inside in case they generated sparks which could ignite any flammable vapours. In the corridors outside the research laboratories there are emergency showers for people to use in the event of a chemical spillage and Hazard warnings are displayed everywhere. All chemicals have hazard-warning labels. Most pieces of equipment have warning labels on them. Details of every experiment were displayed where the experiment was carried out. A full risk assessment is done on any process before it is carried out. If any particularly hazardous materials are being used, a notice is displayed on the outside of the lab and entry is restricted to authorised personnel. In school we sometimes wear gloves when using chemicals. At GSK gloves are used routinely. There are various grades of gloves to chose from, depending on the nature of the chemicals being used. The different grades are colour coded. The researcher has to specify which gloves to use in the risk assessment. Implications These near perfect safety precautions go a long way to proving that the chemical industry is really very safe and does not pose as much danger to the public as is often thought by many people. With the help of modern technology and careful planning the industry, it has become safer than many school science classes! Drug Development GSK GSK spends millions of pounds each year on research and development. It costs something in the region of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½450,000,000 to produce a new medicine. The process of developing a new medicine takes about 10 years. Research usually begins with genetic research, which identifies the proteins involved in the disease. Then thousands of compounds will be tested to see if they react with the protein involved in the disease. This process is highly automated, using compounds stored in the automated chemical store. From this the best compound is identified. This will be the compound, which reacts best with the protein. This will not yet be good enough to be used as a therapeutic drug though. It may be too soluble to stay in the body for long; it may be too insoluble to get into the blood stream. It may be toxic, or have other characteristics that make it unsuitable for use as a drug. The next step is to modify compounds structure so that it has as near perfect properties as possible. For example, to make the compound less water-soluble so that it stays in the body for longer, large organic side groups could be added to the structure. (When penicillin was first discovered it was extremely water-soluble so was very quickly passed out of the body in the urine. Because penicillin was in such short supply it had to be recovered from the urine and recycled!) Once a suitable compound has been found the next problem is to scale up production from milligram’s to grams then to kilogram’s At this point the drug will need to be tested on living tissue (cells, not usually whole animals) So far this process will have taken 4-5 years. Scaling up production has lots of difficulties associated with it. Reactions that work well on a milligram scale may not work on a 20 kg scale. There may be difficulties associated with weighing, heating, stirring, transferring, cooling and purifying. Ways of solving all these difficulties have to be found. The drug will then enter the clinical trials stage. At first it will only be tested for side effects in a few healthy volunteers. It will then be used in trials in patients with the disease. If successful the drug will then be licensed for use and made generally available. Even after this point the drug must be monitored. Implications There is a massive amount of money being poured into the chemical industry by investors. This is good for the stock market and the global economy, the employees of the company and the public who will need the developed drugs. It is a very safe system and those who are put at risk do so by their own admission. The testers are paid quite large lump sums for testing if the drug has any side effects and are usually young healthy men and women at university or college. Very little testing on animals is being carried out any more. There is testing on animal tissue, but this is done on a very small scale and animals are rarely harmed. This is a great step for the industry, which for some time has been beset by animal rights groups protesting their actions. Also the time taken for the drug to be developed is good for job stability for the researchers and developers who are needed far beyond the initial stages of production. Environmental Issues GSK All solvents are collected in large containers under the benches of each lab. When these are full they are taken away and dealt with in a way appropriate to the particular solvent. All waste from the labs is treated as being contaminated and is incinerated. The ash from this is disposed of in landfill sites. Potentially a very large volume of water would be put into the local sewage system. To avoid overloading the system, GSK have installed a recycling system where the water that passes through condensers is reused in a closed system. This also of course saves water. There are no sinks in any of the labs so that nothing can be poured away like is practiced in schools. They are very environmentally friendly. Implications This is great for the environment as nothing is thrown away. It is all dealt with carefully and the industry is becoming far more eco-friendly than in the past. Conclusion From my case study of Glaxo Smith Kline I have found that the industry is in reform. It is becoming far safer and there are many less ethical issues than ever before. Animal testing is low and the environment is finally being preserved. The industry is good for the economy and employs many people from college and university graduates to product test subjects. The pros of chemistry in society far outweigh the cons and this is illustrated perfectly in Glaxo Smith Kline. 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Similarities Between Poes Life And His Works Essay Example For Students

Similarities Between Poes Life And His Works Essay Similarities Between Poes Life And His WorksSimilarities Between Poe’s Life and His WorksIn Edgar Allan Poe’s lifetime and today, critics think that there are striking similarities between what Poe lived and what he wrote. His melancholy, often-depressing stories are thought to reflect his feelings. There is truth to this, although his entire life was not miserable. In fact, in some of his poems, the good characters are modeled after him. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing was affected by many things in his life, including his turbulent childhood, his poverty, and his many tragic losses. In Poe’s childhood, he had five parents. His original mother and father Elizabeth Arnold and David Poe ,Jr.; John Allan and Fanny Allan who took him in after his mother died and his father left him; and Jane Mackenzie whom he thought of as his mother. Elizabeth Arnold was a famous actress who everyone loved. Kenneth Silverman thinks that she initially instilled a love of the arts in Poe.(9) Unfortunately however, she died when he was only two years old. David Poe Jr. was also an actor, but he did not gain nearly as much critical acclaim because of his stage fright and a tendency to mumble. He left soon after Edgar was born and went to Baltimore where he lived for a few years and gained a reputation as a drunk. It is thought that he died at age twenty-seven in either New York or Baltimore. After his mother’s death, Poe was sent to live with John and Frances Allan who gave him a life radically different from the one he had known. Kenneth Silverman says that in his new lif e, Poe found material wealth and love instead of poverty and abandonment .(11) At age thirteen, Poe went with John Allan to London where he received a strict boarding school education. He enjoyed the challenges this school brought to him. William Wagenknecht says that in Poe’s later story, William Wilson, about a man who struggles with the concept of good and evil, the good character was based on Edgar’s happy times in England.(15) With Poe’s newfound wealth, he immersed himself in the arts. He would often quote Cervantes or Shakespeare and add that he was envious of their literary genius. At the tender age of fifteen, someone offered to publish a book of his works. Allan would not allow it though, as he was afraid of Poe’s ego swelling. Poe strived to excel in everything he did, swimming, long jump, running, and writing. This will to succeed showed up in his work later in life when he wrote constantly to keep up with the demand for his stories. Poe event ually broke away from Allan as a result of an argument between Allan and his second wife with Poe taking the wife’s side. He did briefly reconnect with Allan to get his recommendation for West Point. Poe eventually purposely failed our of West Point by missing classes and lost touch with his father all together.(18) These tumultuous times had great highs and lows which greatly affected Poe’s later writings. Another aspect of Poe’s life, which greatly affected his writing, was his poverty. Silverman agrees saying that, poverty was a consistent thread throughout his entire life (except his time with the Allans). In his early years, his mother’s career as an actress often left them with little more than donations from people who pitied the family.(10) Also, later in his life, Poe found himself in debt or poverty. This influenced many of his decisions; including the decision to work for little or nothing in order to get his first book published. This book, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, was published with no royalties going to Poe. His only consolation was that he got to keep the copyrights. It was these bittersweet times that allowed him his unique sense of self. He often equated love with pain, melancholy with beauty, and magnificence with death. Ronald Gottesman cites that he called death â€Å"that fitful stain of melancholy, which will ever be found inseparable fr om the perfection of the beautiful.†(1204) Edward Wagenknecht’s view is that, â€Å"Beauty brings melancholy because it is impossible to hold, and it can not be dissociated from death because even while we grasp at it, death snatches it away.† (157) Poe’s oxymoronic views frightened many of the day’s top writers. Gottesman also states that Ralph Waldo Emerson nicknamed Poe the â€Å"jingle man,† Henry James called his writing primitive, and T.S. Eliot labeled him as immature.(1206) In comparison, today Poe is regarded highly by critics and readers alike. In his twenties, Poe’s poverty left him angry at the world. He often transferred anger from his failed careers and lack of money to his writing and other aspects of his life. He often unnecessarily gave scathing reviews to average books or short stories and even accused Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of plagiarism. This reflected a cause he was deeply involved in, trying to get internation al copyrights. He was passionate in this pursuit for equality of authors. He saw that American writers were able to simply copy British writers with little or no consequence. All of these factors contributed to a more frequent appearance of madmen during this era of his life. Including Roderick Usher in The Fall of the House of Usher; Montressor in The Cask of Amontillado; and the narrator in â€Å"The Raven.† His poverty brought him both joy and pain, but most critics are unsure of the total magnitude of the effect it had on his poetry and short stories. Free Rappaccini's Daughters: Cheeky Rappacci EssayPoe’s tragic life brought him great fortune, sadly, he was never around to see it. Like most great artists he was misunderstood in his time, and only in death was he able to achieve true fame. From his unstable early years to the death of his wife, Poe let everything around him enter his writing. The fact that people could relate to his characters made him a truly great writer. No matter how strange or crazy the characters were, there was always an undeniable human truth hidden inside. Those who were able to find that truth praised him for his depth. As for those who were not, they passed him off as just another magazine writer, drowning in his own mediocrity. The wide variety of critical evaluation he received is what made him a truly great writer. BibliographyWorks CitedGottesman, Donald (ed.). 1979. The Norton Anthology of American Literature (vol.1). New York: W.W. Norton and Company. p1204-1206. Jacobs, William Jay. Edgar Allan Poe. McGraw-Hill Books. New York: 1975. Poe, Edgar Allan. The Unabridged Edgar Allan Poe. Courage Books. New York: 1997. Porges, Irwin. Edgar Allan Poe. Chilton Books. Boston: 1963. Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: A Mournful and Never-Ending Remembrance. Harper Collins Publishing. San Francisco: 1991. Wagenknecht, Edward. Edgar Allan Poe the Man Behind the Legend. University Press. New York: 1963. English Essays