Goffman, Gambling, and Fatefulness: What Can We Learn from the Erving Goffman Archives

• In Event: 592 - Section on History of Sociology Paper Session. Using Sociological Archives

Abstract

This study explores Goffman’s interest in gambling and fateful action. Drawing on a large database assembled in the Erving Goffman Archives, it shows that this scholar’s interest in casinos and kindred settings where the individuals voluntarily take chances has a personal as well as a scholarly dimension. The argument is made that Goffman’s formulations about risk talking advanced in his seminal study “Where the Action Is” constitute an underutilized theoretical and methodological resource. The concluding section discusses how archival materials can aid our efforts to understand the evolution of sociological theory and practice.

Author

• Dmitri Shalin, University of Nevada-Las Vegas