A CATEGORY SYSTEM FOR DRAMATURGICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

The insight that "all the world is a stage" is no longer new. However, relatively few social scientists have chosen to use a dramaturgical approach in the analysis of interpersonal behavior. The work of Burke ( 1968) represents one approach. He notes that classic work on the theatre has used the concepts of act, scene, agent, agency, and purpose to describe action on the stage and suggests that these same categories should illuminate the description of behavior in everyday life. Goffman (1959) has set the pace in the use of dramaturgical concepts with his early work on the ways in which people try to manage the "impression" which they present to others, his analysis of behavior "back stage" and "on stage", his insight that people often form "teams" in presenting themselves to others, as well as many more applications of concepts from the theatre. However, his work is descriptive and his research has not led him to develop the more formal category systems.