Erving Goffman (1922-82) was arguably one of the most influential
American sociologists of the twentieth century. A keen observer of the
interaction order of everyday life, Goffman's books, which have sold in
the hundreds of thousands, continue to be widely read and his concepts
have permanently entered the sociology lexicon. This volume consists of
ten original essays, all written by prominent Goffman scholars, that
critically assess Goffman's many contributions to various areas of
study, including functionalism, social psychology, ethnomethodology, and
feminist theory.