The Self as a Performance

In this chapter is discussed Goffman’s conception of the self as an entity that is strongly influenced by social, contextual and situational factors. The theory of the self as a performer developed by Goffman is considered from the perspective of the identity that it radiates as personal, social and ego identity. In doing so, the issue of the meaning of the body for the construction of modern identity is discussed, whose evolution at the end of the chapter is discussed in the context of the development of social networks. This chapter shows that although Goffman can hardly be said to be a postmodern author, his understanding of the self is much closer to the postmodern than to the modern self.