OK, this book can be hard to find. But it is THE essential source at the foundation of how to interpret visual images, especially as they depict gender roles. It takes a lot of studying to learn to "see" -- to see the patterns of symbolism in ads, for example. Recent books tend to rush this process or to be satisfied with only the most obvious, superficial layer of symbolism. I recommend taking the time to see more perceptively -- and Goffman is a great place to start.

This is a phenominal book on social interactions and situations therein. I did a graduate thesis on adolescent greeting and salutations and this was absolutely vital to the study. Goffman uses cumbersome but quite entertaining footnotes all over the place. (some pages have more footnotes than actual writing) He focuses and those interchanges that are supportive and then remedial and analyzes all the little quirks contained within. It is a very well done study, and very well written.

Good presentation of the settings around presentation and staged performances. It never goes into any tedious details, but focus more on the aspect of "teams" and "stages", much like what can be found in theatres. [Opinion] Everyone ought to make themselves conscious of these structures.

The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman truly is a "must read" book. Really. You learn about your own daily life -- that is good. But the "must" comes from the fact that this book influenced so many psychologists and sociologists who write today -- so go to the source to understand that foundation of contemporary social thought. And don't forget to enjoy the analysis of what people are acting when they go to the beach !!

Dr. Erving Goffman, after receiving his Ph.D. in 1953 at the University of Chicago, first published The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life as a monograph at the Social Sciences Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh in 1956. Published by Anchor Books in 1959, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life effectively elaborates on Thorstein Veblen's observations about the character of the Leisure Class. However, Goffman is particularly attentive to the performative and characteristic structure of society. With the idea that "the general notion that we make a presentation of ourselves to others," (252), Goffman's critical analysis of the individual and society illuminates Veblen's theory that the individual, aspiring to a higher social status, eventually becomes an emblem for that status. Goffman delves into the interaction within tightly-knit social fabrics, revealing that the substantive transition of the individual into society is not nearly as important as his/her "performance."
Entry into a tight social circle, according to Goffman, requires "wearing a look" to avoid betraying his true stance. Goffman notes social principles are guided by moral characteristics, which eventually support that individual in society.
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is not merely a refutation of the adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover" - Photographer Arthur Felig's (also known as WeeGee) 1943 photograph of two impeccably bedecked tiara-sporting society dames, glared at meanly by a crotchety woman, is apt to prompt anyone to pick up the text for a browse. Indeed, in Presenation's case, the photograph has a number of meanings in regard to the substance of the text. Those who "present" themselves in certain respects are often ignorant of the disparaging view they may elicit from others, but if these "others" remotely resemble the growling woman in the photograph, the performers most likely will not care. In addition to the splendid photo, Goffman offers a few little-known meanings of words often arising from society.
Whether the etymology of the word "tact" comes from society, Goffman effectively makes a case that it is a crucial maneuver in the swirling vortex of social circles. Throughout Presentation Goffman offers the point of view of "impression management" as a tool in studying social establishments, explicating them as actor on the proverbial stage. Impression Management serves to "prevent outsiders from coming into a performance that is not addressed to them."

This book drove me crazy. It is a dry sociological look at how we "frame" situations we are in. It is repetitive and a kind of like a verbal calculus problem that never ends. I recommend a weekly therapy session while reading this book!!!

Goffman takes what could have been a very dry subject, and infuses it with a humor that makes the book a pleasure to read (of course, he was tenured when he wrote it, so he could afford the sense of humor). The controlling idea of the book is that anytime human beings experience anything, we "frame" the experience in one of two categories of ways. The first category of frame is the natural frame, which is sort of "automatic." Those frames are not easily changed or shifted. The second category of frame is the social frame, which includes all kinds of subcategories. In short, social frames result from our past experiences, predispostions, etc. Much of the book is given to taxonimizing the different social frames. Other issues that arise are: How do we process experience when there are competing frames? Who gets to control the frame of experience, the speaker or the listener? Both? Neither? This book is full of heady philosphical musings, but within those parameters, it's remarkably reader-friendly.

I bought this book because I am trying to research psychiatric hospitals. I honestly didn't find it to be helpful. I was looking for examples of daily activities and routines in the hospitals. Instead, the author uses a lot of broad statements to cover aspects of just about any asylum. He mainly discusses the feelings and attitudes of the inmates and their caretakers. The book reads like a textbook. I can't say I really learned anything.

Summary:
The contents of this book are really far too complex to summarize, but I will do my best. There are two major points made in this text. The first is the development of the concept of the total institution. Goffman gives the following characteristics of total institutions: (1)  all aspects of life are conducted in the same place under the same authority; (2)  the individual is a member of a large cohort, all treated alike; (3)  all daily activities (over a 24-hour period) are tightly scheduled; (4) there is a sharp split between supervisors and lower participants; (5) information about the member's fate is withheld.  (p. 436) The basic examples of total institutions are mental hospitals, prisons, and military boot camps, though there are numerous other institutions that could be considered total institutions as well. Goffman doesn't leave his discussion of total institutions at a simple definition, he also describes nearly every aspect of total institutions, focusing primarily on the life of the inmates of the institutions (he also discusses the roles of the staff, but that isn't really the focus) and the effects of the institutional environment on the selves and identities of the inmates.

The second major point in the text is Goffman's criticism of total institutions, which is really limited to the very last section in the book (though you could easily see an underlying criticism throughout). Goffman's basic argument is that the total institution does several things to inmates (I should note that he is speaking specifically of mental hospitals here, though some of this could likely be applied to other institutions): First it stigmatizes the inmate, preventing them from being able to ever completely reintegrate into society afterwards. Second, it forces a 'sick' identity on the inmate. For some inmates, any problems or disorders they may (or may not) have are actually encouraged and/or emphasized in mental hospitals because of the culture and environment inside. In a sense Goffman is actually arguing that total institutions create more problems then they solve by turning relatively normal people into mentally unhealthy people (a good fictitious example of this would be One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

Goffman's basis for his discussion and analysis is a period of time he spent in a mental hospital. As an academic work, the book is also filled with references to previous literature and explanatory notes.

My Comments:
I was actually introduced to Goffman in an advanced social theory course but it wasn't until I thought about applying the concept of total institutions to one of the institutions with which I am familiar that I actually read the book. In researching the topic it appears that very little work has actually been done on total institutions (labeled as such) since Goffman's treatise (a lot of work has been done on prisons but it is in the criminology literature and does not generally refer to prisons as total institutions). I did find several examples of papers applying this Weberian 'ideal type' to different institutions, including: Indian Reservations, Graduate School, and others.

I think the reason why there is so little work following Goffman's treatise is because he is generally right, very clear, and remarkably insightful. If he has pushed the concept to its limits then there really isn't any point in trying to push it any further. In this sense, this book is comprehensive and very, very insightful.

But one of my reviews would not be complete without a criticism or two. The only real criticisms I have are the length of the book and the organization. The book is very long and, despite using a surprisingly large font, it takes quite a while to dig through the entire thing. There is quite of bit of information that could potentially have been left out, but if he had, perhaps this wouldn't be the masterpiece it generally is considered to be. Also, and Goffman recognizes this and apologizes for it in the beginning, the organization is kind of strange. Rather than organizing the book as a book with distinct chapters it is actually just a compilation of 4 papers that he had previously published. Some of the papers are massive (over 100 pages), but the problem is that there isn't a perfectly clear logic to the organization and there is absolutely no transition from one chapter/paper to the next. This really is forgivable as an academic work, but it does make things a bit awkward for the reader.

Overall this book is superb. Not only is it well-written (though perhaps at a rather advanced level) but it is incredibly insightful. Obviously Goffman caught the essence of the concept because no one has really challenged his understandings since. If you are looking for the sociological Symbolic Interactionist perspective on total institutions (mental hospitals specifically) or are just interested in what mental hospitals are really like (though this book is likely a bit dated), then look no further than Asylums. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in these topics.

I based a sociological study and wrote a very well received paper - A Study of an English Open Prison as a 'Total Institution' - as part of my studies in 1994, in the form of a reappraisal of the books main points measured against covert observational findings. 'Asylums' was recommended to me and proved invaluable in understanding behavioural data from a symbolic interaction theoretical perspective. I was impressed with the work then and remain so now - to the extent that I am frequently drawn back to it still. It was still relevant at that time and it has lost none of that relevance. I heartily commend it!

this book was terribly boring, but it had this one great example in it about how people treat someone when they just find out about their stigma. they made up an example of someone having a quiggle. People won't know what to say so they ask totally inappropriate questions like "how do you bathe with that quiggle?" and then they try to related it to their own life so it wont seem like they're making a big deal out of it, hence "my uncle had a quiggle!" it's totally true and it was hecka funny. my friends and i wandered around asking each other inapproprate questions about each other's quiggles for a month. i wanted to make a T-shirt that said "embrace your inner quiggle!"

I was first given this book by a blind judge who thought I needed to understand the concepts within prior to commencing psychotherapy. I have since used it in many papers to discuss issues of disability, sexual orientation, and addiction. The concepts also resonate with clients.

In Stigma, Goffman classifies two different types of persons. the discredited and the discreditable. The Discredited are those whose stigma is known by the "normals," and the Discreditable are those whose stigma is not yet know but rather balancing in a precarious situation. The discredited are concerned with "managing tension"; that which is brought about by the stigma.Conversely, the discreditable are concerned with "managing information" as to not let others know of his/her stigma. It is through this framework that Goffman provides a detailed look into the lives of those who have been burden to posses a stigma. An insightful read for "normals" and most importantly for the stigmatized.

This book, while containing a lot of information, is not to be considered easy reading. The reader is bombarded with an array of sociological terms thus making reading seem endless. Many idea's could have been expressed in a much simplier manner.

Very few books in sociology so clearly and profoundly conceptualize the concepts of social occasions as do the works of Erving Goffman. This book is especially important for it provides a framework for tricking out the seen but unnoticed behaviors of everyday life. The book's profoundity is not in what stands out in human intercourse, but rather what does not. The mundane world of social interaction is revealed in what most readers will find to be commonsensically true. In the same way that a physicist can tell us why a baseball flies over the fence (a fairly mundane evernt) in terms of mass, velocity, and drag coefficients, Goffman tells us why the ordinary is able to sustain itself as such.