--- product_id: 4529660 title: "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life" price: "AR$65706" currency: ARS in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/4529660-the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life store_origin: AR region: Argentina --- # The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life **Price:** AR$65706 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life - **How much does it cost?** AR$65706 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.ar](https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/4529660-the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Based upon detailed research and observation of social customs in many regions, here is a notable contribution to our understanding of ourselves, using theatrical performance as a framework. This book explores the realm of human behavior in social situations and the way that we appear to others. Each person in everyday social intercourse presents himself and his activity to others, attempts to guide and control the impressions they form of him, and employs certain techniques in order to sustain his performance, just as an actor presents a character to an audience. Review: Essential for understanding social organizations and social phenomenon at large and at small - I have learned so much from reading any work by Erving Goffman that it is hard to prefer any one of the works over any other. The economy and selection of words, the assembly of sentences, the incessant flow of ideas that bring the thesis home, constantly focusing attention to the multifaceted life of human being as a social being, and the phenomenological approach that he uses, based on actual field studies informed by acute observations -- all work together to make any and all of his works absolutely brilliant. Reading his books, we come to mourn that he died so early. This particular work, on the presentation of the self, is based on his dissertation field work. It embodies many of the essential concepts and threads of ideas which also flower in multiple forms, in specific and special cases, in the body of his later work, too -- in his truly amazing productive life. This is a reading well-worth it for decades to come for anyone interested in social form, impression and expression. No simple words can summarize it. His own conclusion, in this volume, provides a dense summary of the work and provides hints towards further research. Review: An eye opener. - Excellent book, and so timely for these days. It is an old publication that has not lost its place for our current social dynamics. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #24,697 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #11 in Sociology of Social Theory #25 in Cultural Anthropology (Books) #115 in Interpersonal Relations (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 836 Reviews | ## Images ![The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Lzohf6CYL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Essential for understanding social organizations and social phenomenon at large and at small *by M***M on June 8, 2019* I have learned so much from reading any work by Erving Goffman that it is hard to prefer any one of the works over any other. The economy and selection of words, the assembly of sentences, the incessant flow of ideas that bring the thesis home, constantly focusing attention to the multifaceted life of human being as a social being, and the phenomenological approach that he uses, based on actual field studies informed by acute observations -- all work together to make any and all of his works absolutely brilliant. Reading his books, we come to mourn that he died so early. This particular work, on the presentation of the self, is based on his dissertation field work. It embodies many of the essential concepts and threads of ideas which also flower in multiple forms, in specific and special cases, in the body of his later work, too -- in his truly amazing productive life. This is a reading well-worth it for decades to come for anyone interested in social form, impression and expression. No simple words can summarize it. His own conclusion, in this volume, provides a dense summary of the work and provides hints towards further research. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An eye opener. *by J***K on September 16, 2025* Excellent book, and so timely for these days. It is an old publication that has not lost its place for our current social dynamics. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Arts of Impression Management *by S***R on June 21, 2004* I'm not a student of sociology or psychology, but I can't seem to stay away from the work of Erving Goffman. This is the third book by Goffman that I've read (others: Stigma, Asylums). In this book, Goffman elucidates a "dramaturgical" theory of self, which he claims is an additional method of explaining human action. First caveat, I've not read any books by Talcott Parsons, or Manheim, and there were several sections in this book that were heavy enough in theory to make me give up. Despite these difficult sections, Goffman's style is breezy and interesting enough to make th is book worth reading for a layman. Roughly, Goffman sets up a model of human interaction that takes most of its metaphors from the realm of theatrical performance. Human interaction takes place between performers and audiences, interactions happen front stage or back stage. This theatrical metaphor is joined by the idea that human actors interact in teams that share similar motives and values. He joins this "team" idea to the theatrical metaphor by emphasizing the difference between performers and audiences. After laying out his framework, Goffman then uses examples from literature, his own research, and other researchers to illustrate his point. It is in this section that his writing can seem a bit dated. For example, he repeatedly discusses how college educated women will "play dumb" for their boy friends. I'm not saying this doesn't (still) happen, but the example could use somet updating. One of the main insights that I took away from this excellent book is that humans largely exist as social beings through their interactions with other creatures, and the idea of a person as an "individual" is, itself, largely a construct. This largely contradicts much of the books/music I imbibed as a teen and young adult (Ayn Rand, punk rock, I'm looking at you). It also seems to me that this "dramaturgical" perspective is a thesis that has been widely adopted by the self-help movement. Perhaps I will now explore some of that (voluminous) literature. Perhaps not. This book is not without it's more disquieting moments. One thought this book led me to is that the important thing in life is the maintaining of whatever appearance one is required to maintaining. So long as that appearance is maintained, what lies underneath (i.e. the traditional concept of self or personality) is effectively unimportant. If we are only what are interactions with others make us, then what we think/feel on the inside and don't share with others, matters not at all. Goffman himself explains that the dramaturgical perspective is merely another aspect of a larger attempt to explain human action in terms of human INTERaction, but for me, it has great explanatory weight. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life - Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity - The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/4529660-the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life](https://www.desertcart.com.ar/products/4529660-the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life) --- *Product available on Desertcart Argentina* *Store origin: AR* *Last updated: 2026-05-24*