Sociology & Criminology for a Changing World
Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates by Erving Goffman is one of the most influential sociological works of the 20th century. Originally published in 1961, the book presents a powerful analysis of psychiatric hospitals and similar institutions, which Goffman defines as total institutions. These settings, according to Goffman, profoundly
Being Mentally Ill by Thomas J. Scheff is considered a key contribution to labelling theory and the sociology of mental deviance. Building on the theoretical insights of Howard S. Becker and Erving Goffman, Scheff argues that “mental illness” is not (only) a biologically or medically defined condition, but is significantly shaped by social processes of
Goffman’s Perspective: From Visible Deviance to Social Exclusion In Stigma, Erving Goffman explores the mechanisms by which societies mark individuals whose appearance, behavior, or background is considered deviant from social norms. A stigma is not an inherent attribute, but rather a social judgment that is ascribed to a person. Physical stigmas (e.g., visible disabilities) Character-related