The 2017 IVSA conference was dedicated to the concepts of “Framing & Reframing”, and “The Everyday” inspired by one of Canada’s most influential sociologists, and also one of the most cited authors in the humanities and social science, Erving Goffman.
By drawing on eclectic sources, modelling cross-disciplinary fertilization and collaborative knowledge building, and by developing metaconcepts derived from a life-long interest in “communication and conduct in everyday life,” Goffman’s work challenges visual sociology to find ways to dialogue with audiences across the academy and beyond in an endeavour to bring sociological understandings to the micro level of the everyday, but also to help connect it to broader public issues.
Goffman (1922-1982) was born in Alberta, Canada to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants: he studied sociology at the University of Toronto, and completed his Masters and PhD at the University of Chicago. His work is of enduring interest in Visual Sociology and beyond. Goffman’s legacy extends from “impression management” to “face-work and selfhood”, “dramaturgy” to “total institutions” and merits re-visiting in the context of 21st century mediated culture.
“Today we are still faced with Goffman’s concern that categorization by ethnicity, race, and gender do not adequately index the complexity of social identities and how they are structured in real life. The fact of complex social identities and the need for public institutions to figure out ways to accommodate to a broader range of acceptable behavior has become a crisis in many of our schools and other public settings. More now than ever, we need better understanding of the complex elements of civility in our globalizing world.” -Marilyn Merritt
Our Next Conference
2027 IVSA Conference: Cardiff, Wales, UK
We’re delighted to announce the IVSA Conference 2027, taking place in Cardiff from Wednesday 30 June to Saturday 3 July. Hosted by the University of South Wales and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, this year’s conference brings together scholars, artists, and practitioners from around the world to explore A Dance of Perception – the symbiosis between image and sound, inviting rich, interdisciplinary conversations across visual sociology, sound, culture, and social life.
