Joel Manfredi

English 5870

Dr. De Vries

Goffman Journal Entry

Amazing article.  I caught myself laughing at some of the descriptions of Preedy, the “vacationing Englishman,” because although I don’t want to admit it, I think I’ve performed some of those “acts” before.  Upon thinking further, we all perform in some way or another, and some of us are more aware of our performances than others.  

I couldn’t help but wonder how this article related to Ethnography while I was reading it, but have now had a few days to digest the piece and realize that it has much to do with the study of others.  Not only should we as researchers be aware of the “acting” of our subjects, but also of our own “expressions” that we give off while observing, and how those expressions may influence or create a response from our subjects.  For, according to Goffman, we should be aware of what is controlled by the subject, and what is not.  He says that the observer can divide what they see “into two parts; a part that is relatively easy for the individual to manipulate at will, being chiefly his verbal assertions, and a part in regard to which he seems to have little concern or control, being chiefly derived from the expressions he gives off”(7).  

If we can control what we say, then we should assume that we can’t always rely on everything that we hear, and must therefore trust what we see to a greater extent than the other senses.  By observing the “expressions,” which according to Goffman are uncontrollable to a certain degree, then we should be able to better represent the subjects we are studying.  Goffman states that we can get more information through these types of “involuntary expressions” than by just plain observation during one on one situations.  Rather, we need to observe the subject while they are engaged with others in the study.

But, he makes a distinction between the way these expressions are observed.  He says, “true or real attitudes, beliefs, and emotions of the individual can be ascertained only indirectly, through his avowals or through what appears to be involuntary expressive behavior”(2).  He’s saying that we should be able to observe when the subject doesn’t think we’re observing, and thus we can truly get a glimpse of authentic expressions regarding the personality of the subject.  This seems like a simple truth because it’s obvious that people act differently when they are being observed than when they’re not.  So, when doing research it’s important that we remain aware of this issue and how it can impact our results.

Goffman talks about controlling behavior and uses teachers and waitresses to explain this point.  “The skilled waitress…acts with some skill to control their (customers) behavior”(11).  He says that if a person has skills that allow them to control their reality, by the way they deal with people, then this person can manipulate the responses they get from others.  I’m not sure how this incorporates to our class, but it is interesting to ponder.  Maybe we can observe how this dynamic of “control” plays itself out in various classroom settings according to how the teacher has established themselves.  I’m sure this type of “control variance” will be drastic from class to class.