Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- PART I: Diverging interpretations -- 1. Between opposing schools of thought -- Introduction -- Formal sociology, symbolic interactionism, and phenomenology -- Durkheimianism, structuralism, functionalism, and positivism -- Notes -- References -- 2. Dominant sociology and modern epistemology -- Introduction -- The theoretical and methodological status -- Neglecting power, class differences, and social change -- The cynical actor -- The dramaturgical perspective: more than a metaphor -- References -- 3. Non-modern approaches -- The theoretical and methodological status -- Pluralism and dramaturgy -- Rebutting both the alleged cynical actor and the lack of power -- Notes -- References -- PART II: The philosophical base -- 4. Simmel, American pragmatism, and Goffman -- Pluralism: Simmel and American pragmatism -- The epistemological relationship between Simmel and pragmatism -- Simmel, pragmatism, and art -- Simmel, pragmatism, and Goffman -- Notes -- References -- PART III: Theoretical background -- 5. Theoretical principles -- Social interaction as given -- Face-to-face interaction in its own right -- Note -- References -- PART IV: The structure of Goffman's sociological theory -- 6. The selection of concepts -- References -- 7. The willing adjustment and remedial action -- Introduction -- The willingness to abide by the ground rules -- The dual perspective of the ground rules -- Impression management -- Impression management and symbolic interaction -- Communication and information control -- Defensive and protective practices -- The ritual framework -- The dramaturgical framework -- Unintended disruptions, benign fabrications, and unintended offenses to the self -- Remedial action -- Forms of talk -- Conclusions -- Notes