Books by Erving Goffman
“The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is a fascinating book that provides a wealth of insight into social interaction, which Goffman describes in terms of theatrical performance. This concept is explored in Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy As You Like It. One of its most quotable lines is: ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.’ Goffman contends that the roles we play in our daily lives and social interactions are performative in nature, because we always strive to create a favorable impression. According to Goffman, our social interactions are largely governed by avoidance of embarrassment.” Read more...
Stigma
by Erving Goffman
What is so interesting about Goffman is that he does what sociologists should do, which is to watch and to talk to people. For me he is one of the few sociologists that you can read for pleasure. He was very interested in the ways that people interacted with each other and how people are different and how they deal with that in society.
Interviews where books by Erving Goffman were recommended
The best books on Disability, recommended by Tom Shakespeare
Tom Shakespeare, a professor of disability research at Norwich Medical School, says early books on disability focused too much on physical impairment, and not enough on the stigma attached to it.
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The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
by Erving Goffman -
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Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World
by Mitch Prinstein -
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Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away
by Annie Duke -
4
The Person You Mean to Be: How Good People Fight Bias
by Dolly Chugh -
5
The Odyssey
by Homer and translated by Emily Wilson
The best books on Making A Good Impression, recommended by Övül Sezer
The best books on Making A Good Impression, recommended by Övül Sezer
From the classroom to the boardroom, everybody tries (and sometimes fails) to be liked and admired by others. In this interview, Övül Sezer—Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at Cornell University—recommends five books that can help you make a good impression on everybody, including yourself.
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Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America
by Jaime Settle -
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The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health—and How We Must Adapt
by Sinan Aral -
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The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
by Erving Goffman -
4
Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity
by Lilliana Mason -
5
Bit by Bit: Social Research in the Digital Age
by Matthew Salganik
The Best Books on Social Media and Political Polarization, recommended by Chris Bail
The Best Books on Social Media and Political Polarization, recommended by Chris Bail
Convenient as it is to blame our political woes on the polarizing effect of social media, echo chambers, interference by foreign powers or other shadowy operators, the truth is that human nature and our search for identity and status are more likely culprits. Sociologist Chris Bail, a professor at Duke University and director of its ‘Polarization Lab’, talks us through what social science has to say about the connection between social media and political polarization.
The best books on Personality Types, recommended by Merve Emre
Since its birth in the early twentieth century, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has become the most popular personality test in the world. Here, Merve Emre, author of the new book The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing, recommends five books that reveal how the language of ‘type’ has seeped into the marrow of American civic institutions and social life—from Fortune 500 companies to Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
