about the book
This book is a record of what a philosopher (Van de Vate) and a sociologist (Hood) told students about the work of Erving Goffman.
The Goffman Lectures: Philosophical and Sociological Essays About the Writings of Erving Goffman
The essays present reactions to Goffman’s writing up to Relations in Public in the first two sections. The essays in the last two sections present reactions to Frame Analysis, Goffman’s master work.
In the book format each professor’s essays are kept together. In the classroom format presentations were alternated; Van de Vate would speak for a session. Hood would speak for a session. The students in the class would react to the presentations in the third session. Students reactions are not included. Hood’s essays reflect additional revisions from material published some years after the classes were originally presented. Professor Van de Vate’s declining health and death made later additions to his sections impossible. Reactions from colleagues and the continuing importance of Goffman’s insights made publication worthwhile.
