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Social Order (Dramaturgy: one way to theorise social order
Way of…
Social Order
Dramaturgy: one way to theorise social order
Way of understanfing society through theatrical metaphor
Argue that social order can be reduced to how people present themselves in social situations
Concept: Goffman's theatrical metaphor
- Actor: the person presenting some aspect of time
Taking up different identities and presenting them in a genuine way
- Audience: those witnessing the performance
- Setting: the (physical & social) situation where action occurs
Front stage (actor and co-actor are present) and backstage (actor is separated from audience) --> can be both front and backstage
- Props: the social objects that aid/support performance
- Face - the positive social value one feels of self
- Teams: other actors on stage working with you
Notes on dramaturgy
Dramatrugical awareness
People seem to have relatively little dramaturgical awareness most of the time (not aware that they are performing)
Dramaturgical principle
The social world can be understood in terms of performing selves and actions that confirm to situations and create social order
Goffman
Face is like a prison and we are our own guard.
- Our concern with losing face is the primary social constraint in society
- The reason why there is social order is because we worry about others' opinions of us and hence we shape our action alongside them - reference groups
- All groups have connections to larger society. They are not isolated.
Social Action
- Almost all social action is stable
Connected to broader actions that ultimately build society
No need to worry that things will not happen
- Tied up in "external connections" that link person and society
Everyone fitting their lines together (Blumer)
- Arises out of previous actions that has been performed before and we build upon it
"It is the social process in group life that creates and upholds the rules, not the rules that create and uphold group life" (Blumer)His argument is that rules are bottom-up and that rules only function to the extent that people engage in social action and follow it.
- If top down, then rules might not exist. But bottom-up, rules can exist inexplicitly - amongst the people
The social order that frames people's conduct can be found in how they express themselves in interaction.
- Structured social situation because people are doing what they 'ought to do'
- Intersubjective reality
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Power and social order
Power = the ability to force someone to do something
How are you subjected to power?
Larger individuals or groups that shape perceptions of social order
How to achieve power?
- Constraints (punishments)
- inducements (Rewards)
- Influence/Persuasion ("If you do this, I will do this")
Situations and social order
- People work together to avoid disrupting the social order
Face, teams, defensive and protective practices
- We are responsible for making the situation natural (we make the decisions)
We reply on hypersalient identities to provide strategies for (appropriate) action
- Not all situations are easily defined e.g. interviews
Need to analyse what to do
Consider unnatural or exceptional situations
- Multiple, contradictory definitions of reality/situation may be active
E.g. Gynecological examinations - medical vs sexual roles - both parties perform in a medical way
- Selves are dramaturgically realised through performance
Threats to social order must be neutralised