Mills & Goffman Flashcards
What is the sociological imagination?
An awareness of the relationship between individuals and the external social forces that shape our lives and society.
What should the sociological imagination be used to help distinguish between?
Personal troubles of milieu
Public issues of social structure
What is meant by the personal troubles of milieu?
Occurs within the character of the person and their immediate relations with others.
What is meant by public issues of social structure?
Matters that transcend the local environments of an individual.
The issue is in the public domain.
This could be some value cherished by society that is felt to be threatened.
Give an example of a that distinguishes between a ‘personal trouble of milieu’ and a ‘public issue of social structure’
Example of unemployment:
In a city of 100,000 if only one man is unemployed - that is his personal trouble and we look to his character and skills.
In a nation of 50 million employees and 15 million men are unemployed - the range of possible solutions require us to consider the economic and political institutions of the society.
According to Bennett (2002) when we speak of everyday life what are we usually speaking of?
It is usually the everyday lives of ordinary people e.g. members of the working and middle class.
Focuses more on the ‘poor and nameless’ than the ‘rich and famous’.
Describe Goffmans (1952) example of ‘Cooling the mark out’
Describes how practitioners of criminal fraud knows as ‘confidence men’ would operate their stall.
1) the mark would be allowed to win a little money in a rigged game and then convinced to invest a larger amount.
2) there would be some accident, the mark would be left penniless and the operators would disappear.
3) if the con men were confronted with an angry mark that might tell police, the cooling the mark out step was added.
4) one of the operator tries to manage their anger, using the art of consolation.
5) this cooler tries to define the situation for the mark in a way that makes it easy for him to accept the inevitable and quietly go home.
How did Goffman (1952) apply his example of ‘cooking the mark out’?
Goffman applies this concept to human interactions - there are plenty of people in other social settings that need cooling out.
Cooling out is called for when a person is involuntarily deprived of a role in some circumstance that implies he was not capable of it.
E.g. a long-serving employee who believed himself entitled to a promotion that is passed over by management.
If the institution does not provide a means to pacify the humiliated person, the victim may make a scene, become violent or sue.
According to Goffman why is place and time important?
Place and time are important - what is appropriate in one setting may not be in another.
Activities take place in local orders - spaces are put together by their participants.
E.g. in a doctors office, doctor takes the role of professional and the individual takes the role of patient.
What does Goffman say about habits and improvisation?
Life is complex - our expectations change or are misinterpreted.
We improvise in many social situations - these improvisations are done behind a background of habit and routine.
There needs to be enough background stability so we know the outcomes of our actions when we improvise in everyday social situations.
What is the dramaturgical perspective?
Uses the metaphor of the theatre to explain social interaction.
How does Goffman define the front region?
When individuals are in the presence of others we try to maintain a certain impression to present to the public - this performance occurs within the front stage.
We attempt to impress those in our public sphere with our self-image.
We try to get others to see us as we want to be seen, regarding intentions, attitudes and status - these are accentuated facts.
How does Goffman define the back region?
The back region is where the protected self resides.
A place where costumed and other props for personal front may be adjusted and scrutinised for flaws - here the performer can step out of character.
Suppressed facts that might discredit the perceived impression occur within the back stage.
What is Goffman’s (1977) framing theory?
States people interpret everyday social interactions through their own primary framework.
Frames help an individual interpret data - they can understand their personal experiences within a wider context.
Finish the quote from Goffman (1977):
Each primary framework allows its user to ___, ___, ___, and ___ and infinite number of concrete ____ defines in its ___.
Each primary framework allows its user to 1) locate 2)perceive 3)identify and 4)label an infinite number of concrete 5) occurrences defined in its 6)terms.
