Politician brings hard time By Prof Dr Sohail Ansari & Dramaturgical Analysis

Abraham Lincoln, on the accusation that he was two-faced:“If I had two faces, would I be wearing this one?” Since a politician never believes what he says, he is quite surprised to be taken at his word.- Charles de Gaulle

A politician is already hero but people are to reveal

·       A politician congratulates his people for an opportunity bestowed by hard times (brought by him) to reveal hero within. People must sacrifice. A politician has already sacrificed to be a politician. 

In the Holy Quran God addresses human beings as his representatives or vicegerents on the earth providing them with all the necessary skills, principles and tools to lead their lives towards glory and also to lead others towards realizing their fullest potential.

·      "It is He Who hath made you (His) agents, inheritors of the earth: He hath raised you in ranks, some above others: that He may try you in the gifts He hath given you: for thy Lord is quick in punishment: yet He is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful" (Al-An'âm 6: 165)

·      Hard times don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed. Bob Riley

·      Causal analysis provides absolutely no value judgment, and a value judgment is absolutely not a causal explanation. Max Weber

·      A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn’t happen.
- Winston Churchill

ALL COMMUNICATION IS SYMBOLIC AND BASED UPON INTERACTION AND MEANING.

History and Orientation

Symbolic Interactionism, formulated by Blumer (1969) is the process of interaction in the formation of meanings for individuals. The inspiration for this theory came from Dewey (1981), which believed that human beings are best understood in a practical, interactive relation to their environment.

Core Assumptions and Statements

The theory consists of three core principles: meaning, language and thought. These core principles lead to conclusions about the creation of a person’s self and socialization into a larger community (Griffin, 1997).

Meaning states that humans act toward people and things according to the meanings that give to those people or things. Symbolic Interactionism holds the principal of meaning to be the central aspect of human behavior.

Language gives humans a means by which to negotiate meaning through symbols. Humans identify meaning in speech acts with others. 

Thought modifies each individual’s interpretation of symbols. Thought is a mental conversation that requires different points of view.

With these three elements the concept of the self can be framed. People use ‘the looking-glass self’: they take the role of the other, imagining how we look to another person. The self is a function of language, without talk there would be no self concept. People are part of a community, where our generalized other is the sum total of responses and expectations that we pick up from the people around us. We naturally give more weight to the views of significant others.

Conceptual Model

Not applicable. Verbal statements are preferred.

Favorite Methods

Participant observation, qualitative interviewing, interaction analysis and context existing sources analysis.

Scope and Application

The theory is used in effective evaluating of human interaction. Different meanings can easily lead to communication problems. Problems can arise if the lines of communication are not open and assumptions are made.

Example

A boy (Jeremy) and a girl (Kim) broke up last year. When Jeremy received an email from Kim to go out he agreed and they went to a bar. Jeremy had a different kind of meaning though in comparison with Kim. Jeremy went out as friends, where Kim went out as with the meaning of ‘potential boyfriend’. Also in the communication the language was misunderstood. Kim wanted to have a romantic night, while Jeremy wanted to have a talk in a bar. This is also caused by the nonverbal element of emails. The third miscommunication is under thought. When Jeremy replied so fast Kim thought that they were going out to a romantic place. Jeremy went out just as ‘friends’. They both used an internal dialogue to interpret the situation and to make a perception of the evening.

Source: Griffin (1997).

 

Dramaturgical Analysis in Sociology: Definition & Examples

Dramaturgical analysis is the idea that people's day-to-day lives can be understood as resembling performers in action on a theater stage.

Definition of Dramaturgical Analysis

Erving Goffman (1922-1982) was a sociologist who analyzed social interaction, explaining that people live their lives much like actors performing on a stage. Dramaturgical analysis is the idea that people's day-to-day lives can be understood as resembling performers in action on a theater stage. As we present ourselves in various situations, we are much like actors putting on performances for their audience.

Our life, according to Goffman, is a series of performances. Let's take a look at some of this theory's key concepts and ideas.

Presentation of Self

Do you act differently in front of your boss than your best friends? Your coworkers compared to your children? What about your posts on Facebook? Goffman argued that we put on different performances based on who our audience is.

The presentation of the self is a person's efforts to create specific impressions in the minds of others. This process, sometimes called impression management, begins with the performances we carry out each day. Our performances might include the way we dress (our costume), the objects we carry or use (our props), and our tone of voice and gestures.

We might also vary our performances based on where we are (the set). Most people would act differently in a church than a local bar or restaurant. People also design their own homes and offices to bring about a desired impression or reaction in others.

Impression Management

Central to Goffman's theory is the notion of impression management. In this, he argues that all social situations with two or more people involve attempting to persuade others of your definition of the situation. If, for example, you are buying a new car, the salesperson will attempt to convince you that you need to have a pricier vehicle because you are a deserving person who works hard. You are trying to construct a definition that suggests that while you appreciate the added perks of a pricier vehicle, you also have financial considerations to take into account. It becomes a struggle over who is more convincing of their definition of that particular situation.

Erving Goffman's Theories: Impression Management, Dramaturgy & Symbolic Interaction

This lesson introduces the work of Erving Goffman, a sociologist who helped to explain society through the everyday interactions of people. You will learn what he meant by saying that people are all actors playing a part - and that our behavior is dictated by symbols and whether we are in public or private.

Symbolic Interaction Perspective

Have you ever asked yourself why people behave the way they do? Well, so did Erving Goffman, a Canadian-American sociologist, who is known most for his study and analysis of everyday human interactions. He did not rely on any formal type of scientific method to gather his data; instead, he used the act of simple observation to explain society. Goffman's research is fundamental in understanding society's ideas, values, and beliefs through the behavior of the individual. It is through his findings that we can better understand situational behavior.

The ideas, values, and beliefs of a society can be understood through the behavior of individuals.

Goffman was a sociologist who viewed society through the symbolic interaction perspective; this perspective looks at the everyday behavior and interactions between people to help explain society. Some examples of everyday interaction would be meeting various people in the grocery store, workers interacting on the job, meetings of a small group (such as a PTA), or children playing in a park. These interactions catch the attention of an interactionist, and through these interactions, Goffman and other sociologists learn why people behave as they do in given situations.

Interactionism views society as a framework of people living in a world full of meaningful objects. These objects may be physical, tangible objects, actions, relationships, or symbols. Interactionists believe that humans place a meaning on all things to understand it.

For example, if you were shown an object that you have never seen before, you would not know what to do with it, what it does, if it would hurt you or even how to interact with it. It wouldn't be until someone explained to you the meaning of the object (what it is used for, how to use it, and what to expect from it) that you would know how to interact with it.

Symbols

Human culture creates symbols to stand for certain elements within the culture. Symbols are a representation of a society's ideas, thoughts, and beliefs and can be physical objects, hand gestures, non-verbal communications, pictures, and much more.

Symbols represent many aspects of a society and include physical objects, hand gestures and pictures.

Symbols have a meaning attached that all members of the same society understand. In the United States, placing your hand over your heart during the national anthem would be a symbol of respect, whereas a frown on someone's face would be a symbol of unhappiness, anger, or sadness. When we learn the symbols and the meanings attached to each, we are taught (or have been previously taught) an appropriate behavior that goes along with the symbol. Thus, the symbol, with the meaning attached, dictates our behavior.

For example, you are driving faster than the posted speed limit, and you see a police car. Immediately you slow down (but do not stop), for the police car represents a ticket if caught speeding over the posted speed limit. However, given the same scenario, you are speeding and you see a police car behind you with flashing lights on, you pull over because the flashing lights mean to stop.

The 'Presentation of Self'

Erving Goffman introduced a popular thinking within the symbolic-interaction perspective called the dramaturgical approach (sometimes referred to as dramaturgical analysis). Dramaturgical analysis is defined as the study of social interaction in terms of theatrical performance.