Dramaturgical Analysis: “The Presentation of Self”

Dramaturgical analysis is the analysis of social interaction as if it were a theatrical performance. This approach to the study of social interaction is closely associated with the work of Erving Goffman (1922-1980). Goffman agreed that people socially construct reality, but emphasized that in doing so, they make use of various elements of social structure. Thus, like a director carefully scrutinizing actors on a stage, Goffman sought to identify social structures that are used over and over again.

Dramaturgical analysis provides a fresh look at two now familiar concepts. A status is very much like a part in a play, and a role can be compared to a script that supplies dialogue and action to each of the characters. Roles are performed in countless settings that are like a stage in a theatre, and are observed by various audiences. The heart of Goffman’s analysis is the process he called the presentation of self, which means the ways in which individuals, in various settings, attempt to create specific impressions in the minds of others. This process is also called impression management, and contains a number of common elements.

IX. Answer the questions:

1. What problem does the text deal with?

2. What kind of analysis is dramaturgical analysis?

3. What does “the presentation of self” mean?

4. What is the other name for it?

X. Play these roles, please:

1. You are the young mother and leader of the Ecology Committee. You want your children to grow up in a clean, traffic-free environment. You are trying to explain your position to a social worker who has come for the permission of a new traffic route in your residential area.

2. You are a sociologist. You are interviewing a married couple that decided to take a child from a foundling home. Find out about their background, and what they can offer a child. Find out why they want to adopt him, and if they are aware of the problems that may arise. Remember, this is a difficult situation for all involved, so your questions should be less direct and more tactful than usual.

3. You are interviewing a newly-married couple. Try to find out tactfully about their likes and dislikes. Give them some advice if necessary.

Word study

I. Find in the texts English equivalents for:

соответствующий; приближаться; посредством; од­новременно; ряд ролей; вести хозяйство; частичный перечень; несовместимость; следовательно; тесно свя­зан; снова и снова; суть анализа.

II. Read and translate the following words and their derivatives:

interact - interaction - interactant - interacting

correspond - correspondence - corresponding - correspondingly

respond - response - respondent

perform - performance

expect - expectation - expectancy

relate - relation - relational - relative - relatively

introduce - introduction - introductory

incompatible - incompatibility

analyze - analysis - analyst

III. Read and translate the following sentences:

1. The problem must be explained in terms of dialectical materialism.

2. By means of this definition he managed to explicate the issue.

3. They pointed to the drawbacks of his theory by means of a new hypothesis.

4. In terms of his viewpoint the scholar solved this complicated problem.

5. He analyzed the phenomenon of creativity in terms of the new approach.

6. By means of his analysis they made a correct conclusion

7. In terms of his interpretation the issue was properly-examined.