Behavior in Public Places: Notes on the Social Organization of Gatherings

You know a book is good when it stands to the passage of time, and this is an example of it. Although the referrals are old and much new knowledge has come to correct some of his ideas, the teachings here are impressively up to date and precise. I would surely recommend this book as one of the main works of the area.

The book came fast but sadly had to change the class .

I am actually writing this in response to the review that gave 1 star. Yes this is a sociological text not aimed at children. However this work is actually quite easy to read (for most adults with some familiarity with sociology) and definitely has made a significant contribution to the field, particularly within symbolic interactionism. It is also far more accessible than many other key sociological texts (Foucault for example can be somewhat difficult to understand at first). I would highly recommend this to anyone seeking to improve their sociological knowledge especially as symbolic interactionism has had quite a significant impact in the field.

Goffman's theories is always relevant for the social sciences.It is wonderful to see more research books for kindle

Thank you

I read this book for my graduate class but I was made to read other books by him before this one. I enjoyed this one the most by as always, he is very redundant.

not as expected

“The exchange of words and glances between individuals in each other’s presence is a very common social arrangement, yet it is one whose distinctive communication properties are difficult to disentangle. Pedantic definitions seem to be required.” (p. 13)“I will be concerned with the fact that 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 control. It is this aspect of order that is mainly to be considered in this report.” (pp. 23-24)“One of the disturbing and characteristic things about occult involvements, both verbal and bodily, is that the others present cannot ‘get at’ the general intention by which the individual is apparently governed, and cannot credit the offender’s account should he offer one. This suggests that in ordinary life there is an expectation that all situated activity, if not obviously ‘occasioned,’ will have a degree of transparency, a degree of immediate understandability, for all persons present. It is not that the specific actions of the actor must be fully understood—they certainly are not, for example, when the family watches the repairman fix the TV set—but merely that they be given a situational coating through being in a context of known ends or generally recognized techniques. If the others present have no such guarantee that the actor’s mind is in a known and natural place for minds to be, they may sense that his mind may be too far away to allow for appropriate concern for the gathering.” (p. 76)“It might be claimed that once an individual releases himself from respect for social gatherings, for whichever of the multitude of the multitude of possible reasons, then immobility (or, for that matter, motor excitement) becomes a convenient stance, and that what really needs explaining is our normative level of appropriate animation—even though there are only rare exceptions to its maintenance.” (p. 236)“It has been argued, then, that what the individual thinks of as the niceties of social conduct are in fact rules for guiding him in his attachment to and detachment from social gatherings, the niceties themselves providing him the idiom for manifesting this. He often follows these rules with very little thought, paying what he feels is but a small tribute to convention. But should he be caught acting improperly, or catch others doing so, the embarrassment can be surprisingly deep. He may rationalize this response by reference to such things as the individious class implications of uncouth acts (as when he becomes angered at someone for chewing gum too loudly, or for sniffling). But underlying this is the feeling that the other has not properly given himself up to the gathering, and, beyond the gathering itself, the social occasion. More than to any family or club, more than to any class or sex, more than to any nation, the individual belongs to gatherings, and he had best show that he is a member in good standing.” (pp. 247-248)

As I was interested in different action theories I had heard of Goffman through the dramaturgical model and I wanted to learn about his other studies because he has some really good theories. This book is good to read, you start reading something and then say to yourself 'oh yeah, people do that' In some places it goes on for quite a while on points , and seems in places to repeat things that have already been said. But It is a good read if your'e interested in this field.

A real eye opener, and still relevant, up there with Foucault and George Orwell.

Great introduction for the undergraduate.

If this is the only book by Goffman you'll read, try "Stigma" or "Asylum" or "The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life" or "Interaction Ritual." Still, as usual this book is packed with insight into the hidden rules of social interaction and the dynamics of relationality. I needed it for research and was very disappointed that the Kindle version I downloaded had no page numbers. For some reason more and more Kindle downloads have no page numbers..

Perfect condition ! Thanks !