Dramaturgical Analysis

Dramaturgical analysis is a sociological approach that studies social interaction as a form of theatrical performance, in which individuals act as performers who manage the impressions they give to audiences. It was developed by Erving Goffman, above all in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, which distinguished front stage, where people maintain a public performance, from back stage, where they relax and prepare. Goffman analyzed impression management, teams, props, scripts, and the roles that people adopt, as well as the embarrassment and face-saving work that occur when performances fail. His approach drew on Kenneth Burke’s dramatism, George Herbert Mead’s account of the self and role taking, and Charles Horton Cooley’s looking-glass self, and it influenced symbolic interactionism. Arlie Hochschild applied dramaturgical ideas to emotional labor among flight attendants, and Joshua Meyrowitz and danah boyd extended the approach to media and online self-presentation. Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity shares a concern with repeated performance, though with different emphasis. Critics argue that dramaturgy overemphasizes strategic manipulation, neglects structure and power, and may imply that the authentic self is always a performance. Dramaturgical analysis remains central to research on identity, interaction, emotion, work, and digital culture.