We defined microsociology as the study of everyday life and interactions on a smaller level. This can include watching a classroom do their daily lessons, or watching a church do their Sunday mass. Goffman was considered a micro sociologist since he was interested in why people act the way they do, and what drives social interaction. Today our class decided to construct a flash mob in order to disrupt the everyday interaction of the students and violate many social norms. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when the “cawing” first began and I was surprised by what I saw. Many students either ignored or found the noise humorous. Some looked confused and asked their peers what the noise was, one person even shouted “grow up” I spoke with my classmates about that statement and why it was made. We discussed that strange noises or immature behavior is usually associated with children, and when an adult breaks the norm of acting like such, it can bother or annoy certain people. We went against the norm of the typical social interactions taking place. Instead of talking quietly amongst ourselves at our tables, or eating, we imitated birds. This in turn, caused many people to lose face, and become confused or aggravated.
In class we spoke of Goffman’s “dramaturgical analysis” Such analysis states that we as individuals are actors, and our everyday life whether it be conversations or just actions in general are all based on improvisation. Goffman broke these “performances” down into two categories, front stage and back stage. Front stage refers to what we present ourselves to be, the person we want others to see us as. Such performances can be seen on a daily basis, for example our professors. They come to class and present themselves as our teachers, as a subject of superiority. We are given class rules and adhere to them because we want the teacher to like us and give us good grades. The professor puts on a performance every time he or she lectures the class about course matter. However, when our professor is at a bar or family event, they put on a different performance. They then become the sibling or the friend. They do not talk about grades or course work to their peers, that is a performance for the students. Our front stage roles are ever-changing and depend heavily on environment. I wouldn’t go up to my professor and tell him how drunk I got on the weekend before because I am playing the role of the student, this is something I would tell my friends. Instead I would ask about an upcoming assignment, or make small talk about scholarly activities. Back stage serves as a more hidden persona, and it refers to an individual’s personal behavior. Our back stage self is really only evident to us and the people that we choose to let in. This would more than likely be a close friend or family member, even a significant other. Goffman states that the goal of all interaction is communication, and most of our interaction is guess work. We make presumptions on how an individual feels about certain things based on an array of things such as body language or facial expressions. We are not actually told that someone hates pickles vocally, but we make that assumption based on the look of disgust. In class we broke interaction down to three areas, role, which is the image we which to convey, script, which refers to communication and lastly our lines which form a pattern.
Social interaction is complex and is based on many aspects. I found Goffman’s analysis to be insightful and though provoking. We are all actors, and we depend on social cues and norms to lead our interaction. We all put on performances and become whoever we need to be to fill out roles whether it be student, mother, daughter, friend, or grandmother. We depend on these performances to lead our interaction.
In class we spoke of Goffman’s “dramaturgical analysis” Such analysis states that we as individuals are actors, and our everyday life whether it be conversations or just actions in general are all based on improvisation. Goffman broke these “performances” down into two categories, front stage and back stage. Front stage refers to what we present ourselves to be, the person we want others to see us as. Such performances can be seen on a daily basis, for example our professors. They come to class and present themselves as our teachers, as a subject of superiority. We are given class rules and adhere to them because we want the teacher to like us and give us good grades. The professor puts on a performance every time he or she lectures the class about course matter. However, when our professor is at a bar or family event, they put on a different performance. They then become the sibling or the friend. They do not talk about grades or course work to their peers, that is a performance for the students. Our front stage roles are ever-changing and depend heavily on environment. I wouldn’t go up to my professor and tell him how drunk I got on the weekend before because I am playing the role of the student, this is something I would tell my friends. Instead I would ask about an upcoming assignment, or make small talk about scholarly activities. Back stage serves as a more hidden persona, and it refers to an individual’s personal behavior. Our back stage self is really only evident to us and the people that we choose to let in. This would more than likely be a close friend or family member, even a significant other. Goffman states that the goal of all interaction is communication, and most of our interaction is guess work. We make presumptions on how an individual feels about certain things based on an array of things such as body language or facial expressions. We are not actually told that someone hates pickles vocally, but we make that assumption based on the look of disgust. In class we broke interaction down to three areas, role, which is the image we which to convey, script, which refers to communication and lastly our lines which form a pattern.
Social interaction is complex and is based on many aspects. I found Goffman’s analysis to be insightful and though provoking. We are all actors, and we depend on social cues and norms to lead our interaction. We all put on performances and become whoever we need to be to fill out roles whether it be student, mother, daughter, friend, or grandmother. We depend on these performances to lead our interaction.