The reception of Goffman's work in media studies

Abstract

This chapter reflects on the significant and enduring impact of Goffman’s work on media studies from the era of dominant mass communication to the contemporary context of digital and social media. Reflecting a long-standing bifurcation in the field, Goffman’s work was initially taken up by those researching both interpersonal communication and the framing of mass media messages. Specifically, Goffman’s analysis of self-presentation, interaction ritual and strategic interaction inspired a generation of sociolinguistic studies of face-to-face communication. In parallel, the rising body of research on media framing adopted Goffman’s ideas as a sensitizing concept, though it stopped short of a thorough engagement with the dynamic aspects of his analysis of the organization of experience. Notwithstanding some attempts to link interpersonal and mass communication in studies of interaction between representatives of established power on television, the received view in media studies was that the value of Goffman’s work lies in the detailed analysis of face-to-face interaction in terms of self-presentation, ritual and framing. Digital and social media are now prompting a re-evaluation of Goffman’s value for media studies, as the boundaries between interpersonal and mass communication, and public and private spheres, are blurring. This chapter will critically examine the emerging ways in which Goffman’s ideas are being reworked to understand today’s mediated sociability and emergent cultural forms, as digitally mediated social interaction increasingly takes on features of face-to-face interaction, as norms of civility and public space are transformed in the digital commons, and as communication frameworks are extended in time and space.