The+Presentation+of+Self+by+Erving+Goffman

Erving Goffman makes the point that people portray themselves in the way that they want to be viewed at by others. This idea is completely true in our society. There are a number of real life examples that come to mind when thinking about this idea, one being a job interview. When an individual is being interviewed they want to come across as the right person for the job… the person being interviewed wants to seem organized, intelligent and most of all experienced or capable of getting the job done whether true or not. Goffman is completely accurate when he describes this idea of rather self conscious behaviors.

The article presents information on **//Erving//** **//Goffman//**: his **//presentation//** of **//self//**. **//Erving//** **//Goffman//** is something of an enigma in academic sociology. Among the many sociologists who spend time talking around their sociological analyses and qualifying their implications and methodological shortcomings, **//Goffman//** stands out as a lone empiricist who has displayed little interest in his own academic label and how he connects with the rest of the sociological community. This is most visible in his abundant and titillating footnotes which seldom refer to any scholarly works, but more usually draw on novels and other forms of popular writing. It is also reflected in his meager, or non-existent book prefaces and introductions. In fact, in the unusually extensive introduction to his most recent work, "Frame Analysis," he gives his typically Goffmanesque view of introductions. In many respects, unfortunately, the book is quite drab and lifeless. It is too long, for one thing. It also lacks the ethnographic richness for which **//Goffman//** is so well known, and seems to suffer from a forced structure and integration.

References Posner, J. (2000). Erving Goffman: His Presentation of Self. . (pp. 99-113). . Retrieved July 28, 2009, from SocINDEX with Full Text database.