Goffman's dramaturgical model: front and back regions and the two-part self¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The essay presents Goffman's theatrical metaphor as an entire incongruous model of society: "Social life is viewed in terms of performers and teams wt, utilize front and back regions to foster an impression on an audience.Persons are seen as performers of characters." Within it, the self has two parts, an "official" self residing in the pattern of social control in a social system, and an "all-too-human" self shown in back regions, as when a waiter acts differently with customers than with the cook. Both selves are communicated by interpersonal means.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Applying the metaphor to a concrete interaction setting where performers, audiences, and regions can be distinguished

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• rhetoric and communication scholars

Target Learning Objectives¶

• analyzing self-presentation and impression management in interpersonal communication

Claims¶

Related Theories¶

• Symbolic interactionism: individuals and society as inseparable, held together by changing shared symbols
• Ethnomethodology as 'serious ethnography' for studying interaction in natural settings

Examples¶

• Break conversation into micro-units to study the structure of interaction

Key Sources¶

• Corder, Lloyd E. (1988). The Utility of Erving Goffman's Theoretical Perspective, Metaphorical Models, and "Serious Ethnography" for the Rhetoric and Communication Scholar. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED299654