Erving Goffman's Influence On The Sociology Of Education
Erving Goffman, a prominent Canadian-American sociologist, is considered one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century. He has coined and created numerous terms and concepts that have had a great influence on the discipline of sociology and what it has become today. He focus was on the actual social environment and physical interaction of individuals that shapes their views of self. Many of his concepts were created out of his own research and observations that he would make well working in the sociology field.
After Goffman finished getting his doctorate in 1953 he went to work as a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health . Well there, he spend time at a mental institution, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital …show more content…
What makes this a key feature of a total institution is the fact that it breaks down the barriers between work, play and sleep by managing all aspects of life in the same place. Although a person may sleep and eat in one place, it is unlikely that all of the activities that they do everyday are going to be at he same facility and under the watchful eye of an authoritative power. It is also very unlikely that a person outside of a total institution is going to be monitored by a single …show more content…
Upon entering a total institution, that individual is immediately stripped of all self-identifying support that they gained from the outside world. Upon arrival, an individual goes through a process that Goffman describes as a series of abasements, degradations, humiliations, and profanations of self, and they are often systematically mortified (Goffman, 1961). The barrier that the institution puts in place between the individual and the outer world is one restriction of self that the individual looses. This can lead into role dispossession. Many institutions initial withhold visitation rights, in order to ensure that the individual has a clean break from past roles. This causes the inmate to continue to loose more sense of self because they are no longer associated with the roles that they once had outside of the total
After Goffman finished getting his doctorate in 1953 he went to work as a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Mental Health . Well there, he spend time at a mental institution, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital …show more content…
What makes this a key feature of a total institution is the fact that it breaks down the barriers between work, play and sleep by managing all aspects of life in the same place. Although a person may sleep and eat in one place, it is unlikely that all of the activities that they do everyday are going to be at he same facility and under the watchful eye of an authoritative power. It is also very unlikely that a person outside of a total institution is going to be monitored by a single …show more content…
Upon entering a total institution, that individual is immediately stripped of all self-identifying support that they gained from the outside world. Upon arrival, an individual goes through a process that Goffman describes as a series of abasements, degradations, humiliations, and profanations of self, and they are often systematically mortified (Goffman, 1961). The barrier that the institution puts in place between the individual and the outer world is one restriction of self that the individual looses. This can lead into role dispossession. Many institutions initial withhold visitation rights, in order to ensure that the individual has a clean break from past roles. This causes the inmate to continue to loose more sense of self because they are no longer associated with the roles that they once had outside of the total