Anonymous and the Art of Theorizing

Seth Abrutyn

doi:10.60923/issn.1971-8853/22878

Authors

Seth Abrutyn Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6220-3362

Seth Abrutyn is Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia (Canada), where he studies Sociological Theory, Youth Suicide and Mental Health, Emotions, Social Psychology, and Culture. His work can be found in outlets like American Sociological Review, Sociological Theory, Sociological Forum, and the American Journal of Public Health. He is the editor of Springer’s Handbook of Contemporary Sociological Theory (2016) and co-editor of Springer’s Handbook of Classical Sociological Theory (2021), and is currently co-editor of the American Sociological Association’s public-facing journal, Contexts. He is the winner of ASA Theory Section’s 2024 Lewis A. Coser Award for Theoretical Agenda Setting.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.60923/issn.1971-8853/22878

Keywords:

Sociological theory, Erving Goffman, Identity, Theorizing

Abstract

A rarity in contemporary sociology, DeGloma presents a theory-driven, theory-rich monograph on identity. On the one hand, the text works hard to balance a commitment to sociological theory that is uncommon in most corners of the discipline. On the other hand, the text ambitiously models itself on an older type of sociological book, like much of Goffman’s (1959, 1963a) early oeuvre or, perhaps, those mid-century books that transcended the ivory tower like Riesman’s (1950) The Lonely Crowd. The following essay seeks to emulate the spirit of theorizing that DeGloma’s work emulates and inspires in so far as my intention is to engage with the text, first highlighting what I think are the most generative aspects of the argument and then locating gaps that serve as excellent departure points for building on Goffman’s and DeGloma’s work.

References

Abrutyn, S. (2016). Institutional Spheres: The Macro-structure and Culture of Social Life. In S. Abrutyn (Ed.), Handbook of Contemporary Sociological Theory (pp. 207–228). New York: Springer.

Abrutyn, S., & Lizardo, O. (Eds.). (forthcoming). Handbook of Sociological Theorizing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Abrutyn, S., & Zhang, J. (2024). Morality, Affect, and Reputation in the Making of a Motivated Social Self. Sociological Theory, 42(1), 73–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/07352751231223203

Boehm, C. (2012). Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame. New York: Basic Books.

Bourdieu, P. (2011). On Television (trans. P.P. Ferguson). London: Polity.

Brint, S. (2005). Guide for the Perplexed: On Michael Burawoy’s “Public Sociology”. The American Sociologist, 36, 46–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12108-005-1016-y

Burawoy, M. (2005). For Public Sociology. American Sociological Review, 70(1), 4–28. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240507000102

Collins, R. (1981). Three Faces of Cruelty: Toward a Comparative Sociology of Violence. In R. Collins (Ed.), Sociology Since Mid-Century: Essays in Theory Cumulation (pp. 133–160). New York: Academic Press.

DeGloma, T. (2023). Anonymous: The Performance of Hidden Identities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Formilan, G., & Stark, D. (2023). Moments of Identity: Dynamics of Artist, Persona, and Audience in Electronic Music. Theory and Society, 52(1), 35–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-021-09458-w

Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A. (1967). Awareness Contexts and Social Interaction. American Sociological Review, 29(5), 669–679. https://doi.org/10.2307/2091417

Goffman, E. (1952). On Cooling the Mark Out: Some Aspects of Adaptation to Failure. Psychiatry, 15(4), 451–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1952.11022896

Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Anchor Books.

Goffman, E. (1961a). Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. New York: Anchor Books.

Goffman, E. (1961b). Role Distance. In Encounters: Two Studies in the Sociology of Interaction (pp. 85–152). New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company.

Goffman, E. (1963a). Behavior in Public Places: Notes on the Social Organization of Gatherings. New York: Free Press.

Goffman, E. (1963b). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Goffman, E. (1967). Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior. New York: Pantheon Books.

Jaworski, G.D. (2000). Erving Goffman: The Reluctant Apprentice. Symbolic Interaction, 22(2), 299–308. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.2000.23.3.299

Martin, J.L. (2011). The Explanation of Social Action. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mueller, A.S., & Abrutyn, S. (2024). Life under Pressure: The Social Roots of Youth Suicide and What to Do About Them. New York: Oxford University Press.

Riesman, D. (1950). The Lonely Crowd. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Turner, J.H. (2010). Theoretical Principles of Sociology, Volume 2: Microdynamics. New York: Springer.

Turner, R.H. (1978). The Role and the Person. American Journal of Sociology, 84(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1086/226738

Vaughan, D. (1999). The Dark Side of Organizations: Mistakes, Misconduct, and Disaster. Annual Review of Sociology, 25, 271–305. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.25.1.271

Verhoeven, J.C. (1993). An Interview with Erving Goffman, 1980. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 26(3), 317–348. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327973rlsi2603_5

Wrong, D.H. (1961). The Oversocialized Conception of Man in Modern Sociology. Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Review, 49(2), 53–69. https://doi.org/10.2307/2089854

Anonymous and the Art of Theorizing

Authors

DOI:

Keywords:

Abstract

References

Downloads

Published

How to Cite

Issue

Section

License

Information

Make a Submission

Keywords

Current Issue