The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is a 1956 sociological book by Erving Goffman. In the book, he uses imagery of theatre to show the importance of human social interaction. This became known as Goffman's dramaturgical analysis. It was first published in Scotland in 1956, and the United States in 1959.Macionis, John J., and Linda M. Gerber. 2010. Sociology (7th Canadian ed.). Pearson Canada Inc. p. 11. It was Goffman's first book, and won him the American Sociological Association's MacIver award in 1961. In 1998, the International Sociological Association listed the work as the tenth most important sociological book of the 20th century.

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life was the first sociological book to study face-to-face interaction. Goffman uses examples from theatrical performances and shows how they are like everyday conversations. He believed that people would try to change what others thought of them whenever they spoke to somebody else. At the same time, the other person does the same.Trevino, James. 2003. Goffman's Legacy. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 35. Another thing that is in the book many times is the idea that making sure everyone in a room has the same definition of the situation is important for interactions.

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Category:1956 books
Category:Sociology
Category:Science books