INTRODUCTION
Erving Goffman (1922-1982) was a Canadian sociologist and a writer. As a sociologist he gained immense fame. This was because he was able to analyze the face-to-face human interaction and hence draw inferences from them. Being a sociologist he stressed the fact that “society always comes first”.
As a writer he wrote a number of books. His first book was The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, in which symbolic interaction was focused, which evolved his sociological and writing skills. Based on these skills he was well-known for his interpretation of symbolic language. During his lifetime he received a number of awards and served at numerous institutions.
Among his other books are included two famous books Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates in 1961 and Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity in 1963.
DEFINITION
Asylums is an acute analysis of the highly important social structure, so as to result in a accommodating behavior, especially in environments included in “total institutions,” for example jails or mental asylums.
Stigma can be defined as an attribute, which is considered a major disgrace, if possessed by a person and there may be variations in it resulting in a socially construct mechanism. Thus it can be said that people generally fear or try to avoid mentally ill people because of the negative attitudes and beliefs, possessed by people.
COLLECTION OF DATA
For Asylums Goffman collected information through observation from National Institute of Mental Health in Washington D.C.
For Stigma data was collected via structured interviews, conducted face-to-face and over the telephones and also from medical records.
CLASSIFICATION
Asylums is a collection of four essays, which include:
1. ‘On the Characteristics of Total Institutions’, the first essay looks at the social interactive life at the institutions mentioned above. It then states the discussion being made in the upcoming three essays.
2. ‘The Moral Career of the Mental Patient’, the second essay focuses on the initial effects of institutionalization, on the relationships that an inmate had.
3. ‘The Underlife of a Public Institution’, the third essay is concerned with the expectations an inmates has from the institution, where he is present and how they deal with the gap between their expectations and what is available.
4. ‘The Medical Model and Mental Hospitalization’, the fourth and the last essay is concerned with the staff at the institutions and how they make the environment appear and the inmates feel. Usually for people, who are mentally ill, stigmatization is a living, real problem. Therefore, effort must be made to avoid places like jails and mental hospitals. As they have a psychiatric impact on our minds.
Stigma has been divided into five chapters, which include:
1. ‘Stigma and social identity’ the first chapter, introduces the concepts of stigma and social identity. Then he discusses interaction between the normal and the stigmatized in a particular surrounding and their pattern and response under differing circumstances.
2. ‘Information control and personal identity’, the second chapter discusses different types of identity (personal, social and ego) and the application of identities and information control in the managing of stigma. Then people have been divided into different categories and analysis made on how to deal with gaps in various types of identities.
3. ‘Group alignment and ego identity’, the third chapter provides a ground for classification of individuals based on numerous criteria and how the stigmatized individuals try to fit into their surroundings. Discussion on the feelings of stigmatized individuals and their acceptability by others has been made.
4. ‘The Self and its others’, the fourth chapter focuses on establishing a relationship between the Stigmatized and the Normals, however there may be variations. The writer thinks that managing stigma is an important part of every society and that people should learn to respond and adapt to it.
5. ‘Deviations and deviance’, the last chapter deals with the sociological issues, pertaining to deviations and deviance, in relation to stigma and hence its effective application.
CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE
In Asylums he has described institutionalization based on response by patients towards different processes and structures present. The two categories of people include: ‘guard’ and the ‘captor’, who are aware of their roles and duties. It also highlights how an individual person, under a category can adjust to the surrounding environment and find faults or benefits to be derived from the system based on the person’s needs. He has pointed out that conforming roles and treatment are equally important.
In Stigma, people have been classified into two categories: the discredited and the discreditable. The discredited are those whose stigma are known by the ‘normals’ and are concerned with “managing tension”; as a result of stigma. Whereas, discreditable are those whose stigma is not yet known but is unstable. They are concerned with “managing information” such that others are unaware of their stigma.
AREA OF FOCUS
Asylums focuses on institutions which are described, such that it provides a place for living and work, with a number of people in a similar scenario, cut-off from the entire community for a certain time period, who are under supervision. Examples include: prisons or mental hospitals, where people are present involuntarily, that is not based on their will or choice.
It points out the ways in which the mental asylum alters and makes patients adjust into the socially accepted norms of the society. It focuses more on the experience of the patients and staff then to justify or explain the system. If a particular activity is not known to a person it is considered as an achievement.
In Asylum the environment in certain cases is created such that the patients are not being supervised and inspected. This was considered good by them and rewarded accordingly. However, this environment was created to give them a false impression so that they are satisfied and it appears that privacy is being provided to them. This made them feel free and relaxed.
Stigma focuses on ways based on which we would classify others and be classified by them and also how we would interact, once these classifications have been made. The word “normalization” has been used to describe the complete process of classification.
Throughout the book discussion about how a stigmatized individual feels and how people feel about him have been done. Different strategies and alternatives, used by these people to deal with the awkwardness and being recipients of negative responses have been highlighted in the book.
“Asylums” focuses mainly on the relationship of individuals and institutions, “Stigma” focuses mainly on inter personal relationships. Asylums, has talked about how institutions are important in shaping identity but this has not been the point of emphasis. However, Stigma has greatly emphasized the relationship between identity and stigma and the ways of building upon this relationship. Stigma provides a multidimensional view of looking at ways to manage tension and information. It highlights the aspects of overcoming gaps that are a result of difference between the standards set by an individual and the reality.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Asylums has pointed out that institutions usually try to serve as taking care of people but in most cases serve as storage dumps. These institutions separate the inmates from the other people, as they are stuck up in institutions with locked doors and high walls.
This book is able to capture attention of people to think about aspects unthought-of. This brought up questions like were institutions really serving their purpose and the staff serving to help the inmates or not. Goffman looks at the people in these institutions and seeks to interpret their experience rather than justifying the system that contained them.
Apart from this Goffman has brought to notice the paper work involved in these institutions which is considered more important than the patients care. Therefore it cannot be said that these institutions always provide protection in the best possible manner. Due to focus being shifted to what it appears to us than what it is, the book has became a classic.
Inmates are improved based on certain criteria. However, there is constant battle between what the institution does and what the staff thinks it is doing. The task of the staff is to deal and handle people in an effective manner. They have to keep a proper record of what things are being provided and meals served to the inmates so that accounting can be handled based on that.
Stigma provides a tour-based understanding of how people may lack to meet the criteria, which is considered as normal by the people. When individuals fail to meet the criteria, that is, they are unable to gain acceptance by the people, they are stigmatized individuals. This is stated in reference to maybe prostitutes, drug addicts, physically incapable who have to live up and adjust to their unstable identities, which are set in people’s minds. They will come across people on a regular basis, who have a particular mindset, which would constantly remind them of their image in the society.
It can be noted that Erving Goffman has continuously emphasized the link between the individuals and the people around. According to him this link is formed and strengthened based on people’s intentions and their needs. This link is then formed on a permanent basis which is difficult in fact usually impossible to avoid. So people must try not to just adapt to the surroundings but look at in a positive manner.
UNDERSTANDING
The book Asylum has been quite successful in providing understanding of the asylum and how inmates are treated and tackled. This is done by establishing appropriate links and relationships. Better understanding is also provided as the society has improved and advanced. As previously a medical model with variations was used to treat patients. However those methods have been replaced by medicalization of mental illness and many other treatment methodologies after the 19th century and the Industrial Revolution.
The book Stigma is very successful in providing its readers a complete understanding of the importance and necessity of “stigma”. In this book the writer has defined a five phase process through which a person with stigma would go through. The five phase process is as follows:
1. Find out what it means to be normal,
2. See whether you are normal or not,
3. Make sure information about your stigma is not revealed,
4. Learn to get through as being someone without a stigma,
5. Focus on how you to voluntarily disclose your stigma.
It has been said that mainly people who are not normal or considered as normal have to deal with stigma. However it should also be kept in mind that even normal people also have to deal with stigma during their lifetime. Thus it can be noted that stigma spreads over a range, with people frequently encountering it to those who hardly encounter it.
Major focus of the book Stigma is thus on those who have been burdened to posses a stigma. It highlights that people face immense pressures in their lives because they have to know what is acceptable by the society and what is not. Stigma also deals with a continuum of people who are classified on the basis of social norms.
IMPACT
The book Asylums provides an understanding of the relation between the inmates and the staff but the impact of the relation have not been discussed. Thus it lacks the ability to identify its impact on the outside world. And the institutions are not considered of much significance and are not considered much valuable by the society.
Stigma, leads to lack of interaction and working or even employing mentally ill people. This results in low self-esteem, isolation, and hopelessness among people. As people try not to pay attention or care for people with mental disorders. Due to stigma, mentally ill people, become emarrased and try to internally deal with their attitudes, which exhibit not so required symptoms and failure of them receiving treatment. This book is the extension of his book Asylum, which deals mainly with the process of institutionalized socialization.
CONCLUSION
Erving Goffman has excellently used his skills in writing the books ‘Asylums’ and the ‘Stigma’. In both the books focus is on topics of great importance in today’s highly changing world, which require understanding and interpretation. However, the topics under discussion in both the books are different. The book ‘Stigma’ has been built up upon the understanding of the book ‘Asylum’. Thus ‘Stigma’ provides a further understanding and uses a comparatively elaborative approach.
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