Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on Erving Goffman's Dramaturgical Approach to Human Interaction. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 7 page research paper that discusses Erving Goffman, one of the twentieth century's most influential sociologists, who developed and supported a dramaturgically oriented approach to explaining the world of human interaction and behavior (De Boer, 1994). This approach to sociology holds promise in regards to both understanding the nature of human behavior in everyday life and also in regards to utilizing this perspective within the context of cultural and art experiences that are designed to have a positive impact on public participation in the arts. Bibliography lists 9 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khegoff.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
promise in regards to both understanding the nature of human behavior in everyday life and also in regards to utilizing this perspective within the context of cultural and art experiences
that are designed to have a positive impact on public participation in the arts. Dramaturgy refers to a sociological perspective that envisions human behavior as intrinsically interwoven with the
time, place and audience for that behavior (Trask, 2007). Goffman refers to life as a "stage," and describes how the roles that people play upon this stage are assigned to
them by the processes involved in the assimilation of societal norms and values. In describing these processes, Goffman uses the language of symbolic interactionism, which describes the specific features of
the various factors of everyday life that are involved in this model (Goffman, 1959). Goffman is considered to be the "principal spokesperson for symbolic interactionisms dramaturgical approach" to human relationships
(Reynolds, 2006, p. 95). In essence, Goffmans perspective combines the interactionism of George Herbert Mead with the "dramaturgical approach of Hugh Dalziel Duncan and Kenneth Burke" (Reynolds, 2006, p. 95).
As a sociologist, Duncan was a staunch disciple of Kenneth Burke and Duncans work largely derives from Burkes perspectives on the motivation behind human behavior (Kenny, 2008). Goffmans perspective
is indebted to both of these predecessors. Kenny (2008) observes that "Anyone familiar with Goffmans dramaturgical approach will note the similarities to Dramatism," i.e., the approach fashioned by Burke was
further elaborated on by Duncan. In his text A Grammar of Motives, Burke presents his principles of sociological investigation in terms of an extended metaphor that describes human behavior
in terms of "Act, Scene, Agent, Agency (and) Purpose" (Burke, 1969, p. xv). Similarly, in his text, Culture and Democracy, Duncan (1989) uses the metaphor of stage and drama repeatedly
...