The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life Erving Goffman Think of our social interactions as series of performances

Dramaturgical Theory The Theatre Social Life Play Flow of interaction Character Social Person Actor Individual Role Behavior Audience People Observing the individual Front Stage Where the individual’s action is performed – situational Back Stage Where the individual’s action is oriented: Toward a different set of others – depending on the situation Toward what is going to happen in the front stage or toward what has happened.

Performances Roles Teacher (Role) Impression = Authentic Character Socially constructed impression of a teacher: We expect teachers to act a certain way, and we trust that they will.

Performances Belief in the Part One is Playing “It will be convenient to begin a consideration of performances by turning the question around and looking at the individual’s own belief in the impression of reality that he attempts to engender in those among whom he finds himself”(Goffman 17). Sincere? Cynical? Evaluate the performance:

Performances The Mask Latin: Persona Actor’s mask; character in a play “It is probably no mere historical accident that the word person, in its first meaning, is mask. It is rather a recognition of the fact that everyone is always and everywhere, more or less consciously, playing a role… It is in these roles that we know each other, it is in these roles that we know ourselves” (Park 249). Park, Robert Ezra. Race and Culture. 1950. The Free Press. Glencoe, IL.

Can our masks (persona) change? Performances The Mask Can our masks (persona) change? Persona – The aspect of a person’s character that is presented to or perceived by others

Are there masks we wear for different occasions? Performances The Mask Are there masks we wear for different occasions? Identify the mask(s) which are cynical: -you don’t fully believe in your performance

Performances The Mask Can we discard a sincere mask for a new one? Is there movement between sincere and cynical masks? Has your identity changed throughout your life? Do you feel like you’re different from a ‘past you’? Have you ever tried on an identity that didn’t quite feel right?

Performances The Front “…that part of an individual’s performance which regularly functions in a general and fixed fashion to define the situation for those who observe the performance” (Goffman 22). What are some roles which have been socially constructed so that we can make some assumptions about expected behavior?

Performances The Front (stage)- Setting Your bedroom: What would we learn about you from simply observing your bedroom? The setting involves: Furniture Décor Physical Layout Other relevant background items My Role = Teacher I ‘perform’ this role in my classroom = setting

Performances The Front – Personal Front Your personal front is the intimate way you express yourself: Appearance: race, sex, clothes, adornments, posture, posture, speech, facial expressions, etc. Appearance gives the audience information about an individual. Social Status? Our perceptions of people are often socially constructed by knowledge and previous experience.

Performances The Front – Personal Front Your personal front is the intimate way you express yourself: How do we expect certain people to act? Manner: the interaction role expected of the role. Your manner will be different based on the role you’re playing. For example: student vs. friend What happens when people don’t act they way we expect?

Performances Setting = Appearance = Manner Our experience tells us that there should be consistency between an individual’s setting, their appearance, and their manner. Stereotypical 50’s mom Changing Role of the Mother = decades of societal tension 1990s single, working mom

Performances Idealization of the front Generally, we tend to put forth the most idealized version of our self. Societal Expectations/Values Authentic? Socialization works to teach us what our ideal selves ‘should’ be. Cynical? Impression Management