A total institution is defined by Goffman as a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situated, individuals, cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life. Prisons serve as a clear example, providing we appreciate that what is prison-like about prisons is found in institutions whose members have broken no laws. This volume deals with total institutions in general and, mental hospitals, in particular. The main focus is, on ...
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A total institution is defined by Goffman as a place of residence and work where a large number of like-situated, individuals, cut off from the wider society for an appreciable period of time, together lead an enclosed, formally administered round of life. Prisons serve as a clear example, providing we appreciate that what is prison-like about prisons is found in institutions whose members have broken no laws. This volume deals with total institutions in general and, mental hospitals, in particular. The main focus is, on the world of the inmate, not the world of the staff. A chief concern is to develop a sociological version of the structure of the self. Each of the essays in this book were intended to focus on the same issue--the inmate's situation in an institutional context. Each chapter approaches the central issue from a different vantage point, each introduction drawing upon a different source in sociology and having little direct relation to the other chapters. This method of presenting material may be irksome, but it allows the reader to pursue the main theme of each paper analytically and comparatively past the point that would be allowable in chapters of an integrated book. If sociological concepts are to be treated with affection, each must be traced back to where it best applies, followed from there wherever it seems to lead, and pressed to disclose the rest of its family.
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Add this copy of Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental to cart. $4.80, fair condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1988 by Penguin.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has soft covers. In fair condition, suitable as a study copy. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 300grams, ISBN: 9780140552195.
Add this copy of Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental to cart. $6.34, very good condition, Sold by Halcyon Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from LONDON, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1988 by Penguin.
Add this copy of Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental to cart. $52.27, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1987 by Penguin UK.
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in qualitative social science studies, and for anyone interested in the mental health system and its current functioning. Dr. Goffman has written a classic that describes the background of the corporate culture that still pervades mental hospitals and many of the practices still current in the delivery of mental health services. An excellent, excellent book!
antisam
Apr 27, 2007
Well worth the read.
An excellent analysis of the predicament of mental patients and other inmates in institutions. Goffman's work takes us inside the world of the person inhabiting one of these environments. This book benefits from this radically different point of view. A must for anyone interested in the critique of psychiatry.
