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Erving Goffman

Erving Goffman Quotes

Sociologist

Erving Goffman (June 11, 1922 - November 19, 1982) was a Canadian sociologist who is considered one of the most influential sociologists of the 20th century. He is known for his contributions to symbolic interactionism and impression management theory.

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All Way Persons Individual World May Normal Self Social Stigma Able Faces Fundamentals Identity Kind Men Mental Health Stigma Possibility Reality Shows Stigmatization

Famous Erving Goffman Quotes

“When persons are present to one another they can function not merely as physical instruments but also as communicative ones. This possibility, no less than the physical one, is fateful for everyone concerned and in every society appears to come under strict normative regulation, giving rise to a kind of communication traffic order.”

Giving Kind Persons Order Possibility Communication Concerned Function Instruments Regulation Traffic Strict

Book:Behavior in Public Places

Source: Behavior in Public Places

“There seems to be no agent more effective than another person in bringing a world for oneself alive, or, by a glance, a gesture, or a remark, shriveling up the reality in which one is lodged.”

World Persons Reality Seems Alive Oneself Agents Gestures Glances Remarks

Author:Erving Goffman

“Any group of persons – prisoners, primitives, pilots, or patients – develop a life of their own that becomes meaningful, reasonable and normal once you get close to it.”

Persons Groups Normal Patient Meaningful Reasonable Prisoner Pilots

Book:Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates

Source: Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates

“Our sense of being a person can come from being drawn into a wide social unit; our sense of selfhood can arise through the little ways in which we resist the pull. Our status is backed by the solid buildings of the world, while our sense of personal identity often resides in the cracks”

World Way Littles Persons Social Identity Building Wide Arise Cracks Units Sense Of Self Personal Identity

Author:Erving Goffman

“The normal and the stigmatized are not persons, but perspectives.”

Persons Perspective Normal

Book:Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity

Source: Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity

About the Author

Born: June 11, 1922
Died: November 19, 1982
Known for: Sociologist
Quotes: 23

Related Topics

Way Persons Individual World May Normal Self Social Stigma Able Faces Fundamentals Identity Kind Men Mental Health Stigma Possibility Reality Shows Stigmatization

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other InmatesRelated source material

Behavior in Public PlacesRelated source material

Forms of TalkRelated source material

Interaction Ritual: Essays in Face to Face BehaviorRelated source material

Los Momentos Y Sus HombresRelated source material

Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled IdentityRelated source material

Where the action is: three essaysRelated source material

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