Week 3 - Goffman and the Study of the Everyday

What kind of information does Goffman think individuals 'give off' when they interact with each other?

Two exchanges of information characterize each person: the expression that he gives and the expression that he gives off. Giving off encourages symptomatic readings. They are non-verbal theatrical but unintentional. Individuals appearing before others always give off a form of analysis/definition of the establishment they are in. Ethnomethodology calls this a formulation.

Provide examples of what he means by the 'front' setting in which role-performances take place?

Front and setting are defined individually. The front is like the front of a stage, where the individual appears in the open, displayed to the audience, the observers. The front is the expressive equipment of the performance.

The Setting is defined as an environment that is established and provides the surroundings for the performance to be given by the individual.

Why does Goffman's interest in everyday activities make the playwright Alan Bennet wake up in a 'cold sweat'?

I think it is specifically the meticulous way in which Goffmen explores human behavior from a sociologists perspective. Especially his analysis of double meanings not only in words, but also in conversations seem to frighten him as a playwright. Goffman actually lectures him about human behavior. Comprehensible conversations and management of different stages as performed in the descripton of Goffman’s performer are crucial for a good play