Deciphering Goffman: The Structure of his Sociological Theory Revisited

209 Pages·2017·2.054 MB·English

by  Ramon Vargas Maseda

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Deciphering Go man
Challengingthe‘classical’conceptionofGoffman’ssociology,thisbookoffers
a new interpretation based on a comprehensive examination of previous
interpretations and critical assessments of Goffman’swork.
Epistemologically, the book acknowledges the important but overlooked
influences of both pluralism and particularly of pragmatism, where not only
Simmel but also James and Dewey played a pivotal role in his work, thus
rooting Goffman’s thought in symbolic interactionism. With attention to two
central theoretical principles underlying his work—the pertinence of studying
social interaction as given and the need and warrant to study face-to-face
interaction in its own right—the author presents a rigorous examination of
Goffman’s own writings to uncover the clear and recognizable process of
systematization that Goffman followed throughout. In this manner, the book
reveals the structure of Goffman’s theory by way of mapping the main
themes, topics, concepts, empirical referents, methodological principles and
theoretical frameworks relevant to the structure of his thought. A fresh
examination of the structure of Goffman’s work that sheds light on the core
of his unique approach, this new study of one of the central figures of
sociology constitutes an important contribution to scholarship in social
theory and the history of sociology.
Ramón Vargas Maseda has lectured at the Ibero-American University, the
Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, and, most recently, in the
Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at the National Autonomous
University of Mexico, where he was Professorof Sociology.
Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought
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115 Crisis and Critique
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116 China in Early Enlightenment Political Thought
Simon Kow
117 Elementary Forms of Social Relations
Status, Power and Reference Groups
Theodore D. Kemper
118 Groundwork for the Practice of the Good Life
Politics and Ethics at the Intersection of North Atlantic and African
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119 Theories of the Stranger
Debates on Cosmopolitanism, Identity and Cross-Cultural Encounters
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120 Planet Utopia
Utopia, Dystopia, and Globalisation
Mark Featherstone
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Deciphering Go man
The Structure of his Sociological Theory
Revisited
Ramón Vargas Maseda
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Firstpublished2017
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To the memory of my mother, María del Pilar Maseda Martín
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
PARTI
Diverging interpretations 7
1 Between opposing schools of thought 9
2 Dominant sociology and modern epistemology 31
3 Non-modern approaches 46
PARTII
The philosophical base 63
4 Simmel, American pragmatism, and Goffman 65
PARTIII
Theoretical background 83
5 Theoretical principles 85
PARTIV
The structure of Goffman’s sociological theory 95
6 The selection of concepts 97
7 The willing adjustment and remedial action 101
viii Contents
8 The necessary adjustment and defensive action 154
9 The hinge principle 180
Conclusions 188
Index 193
Acknowledgments
I am very grateful to my editor, Neil Jordan, for his confidence in this book
and his most helpful suggestions. I also want to thank my wife, Cristina
Navarrete Pedraza, for her invaluable support and understanding all these
years, as well as for her assistance with English and editing—whatever errors
there may be are not attributable to her. And lastly, I give credit to my
proofreader, Cary Elcome, for his sensitive, meticulous work.