Fiction in Goffman

There are no references to creative fiction in Erving Goffman’s founding statement of his sociology the interaction order, 1953 Chicago doctoral dissertation ( Communication Conduct an Island Community). Yet four pages into first and best-known book, The Presentation Self Everyday Life (1959), Goffman cites a ‘novelistic incident’ describing posturing Preedy, ‘vacationing Englishman’ on Spanish beach. It is introduced order articulate distinction between ‘expressions given’ given off’ indicate their capacity for intentional or unintentional engineering. page-long passage about found 1956 collection William Sansom’s short stories, often mentioned reviews summaries groundbreaking book. This article describes types drawn upon by examines ‘work’ that fictional illustrations distinctively do writings. discussion sheds light not only why elected include illustrative materials eventually he dropped use, it also underscores some strengths limits interactional analysis sociology.