Erving Goffman ― A Critical Introduction to Media and Communication Theory

With a focus on his contributions to media studies and communication theory, Winkin (communication, Ecole normale superieure, Paris, France) and Leeds-Hurwitz (communication, U. of Wisconsin) present an introduction to the life and work of Erving Goffman. They offer an intellectual biography of Goffman, noting his Canadian origins and mostly focusing on his academic movements and fieldwork. They overview his ideas from unraveling the complexities of face to face interactions to pleading for the powerless to frame-analysis. They trace his influence across several disciplines, including communication and critical theory, and point to work that remains to be done, from studying faulty persons to interactions between strangers. Methods are outlined focusing on his ethnographic approach and microanalysis. The penultimate chapter returns to the topic of his observations about interaction orders, while the last chapter argues for how Goffman's work and ideas are valuable for everyone. Annotation c2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Yves Winkin is University Professor of Communication at the Ecole normale superieure of Lyon (ENSL), France, and Extraordinary Professor of Anthropology at the University of Liege, Belgium. His major books include Anthropologie de la communication (1996, translated into Spanish and Portuguese); Erving Goffman: les moments et leurs hommes (1988, translated into Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese); and La Nouvelle Communication (1981, translated into Greek, Spanish and Portuguese). His latest book is Vers une marche plaisir en ville: boite a outils pour augmenter le bonheur de marcher (2012, with Sonia Lavadinho). His MA is from the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania; his PhD is from the University of Liege.
Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz is Director of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Professor Emerita at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Among her books are: Learning Matters: The Transformation of US Higher Education (2012, with Peter Hoff), The Social History of Language and Social Interaction Research (2010), Socially Constructing Communication (2009, with Gloria Galanes), Wedding as Text (2002), Social Approaches to Communication (1995), Semiotics and Communication (1993), and Communication in Everyday Life (1989). Leeds-Hurwitz earned her MA and PhD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.