Erving Goffman and the Sociology of Death and Dying

Erving Goffman provided sociology and related disciplines with an enormously extensive arsenal of useful and memorable concepts with which to capture social and everyday life. His focus was primarily on the microsociological dimensions of society. Even though the topics of death and dying did not loom large in Goffman’s writings - in fact, they were almost conspicuous by their absence - they nevertheless can be made relevant, understandable and sociologically meaningful by invoking and applying his general perspective and specific terminology. Many scholars and researchers following in Goffman’s interactionist footsteps later made use of his theoretical perspective and specific concepts when studying micro-settings where death and dying were prevalent. This chapter explores how Erving Goffman has influenced ‘death studies’ and how his main ideas and terminology may be explored further. First, we will briefly discuss how the perspective of interactionism/symbolic interactionism/microanalysis may provide a platform for understanding and analysing different dimensions of encounters with and experienced of death and dying. After this, we will look at some specific research areas in which Goffman’s ideas have inspired studies of death and dying. Finally, we will tap into some of the still unrealised potential for using Goffman’s work. The chapter thus shows how Goffman’s contribution to our understanding of death and dying needs to be recognised and developed further in the future.