ABSTRACT
Microsociological analysis is thus not blind to the possibility that phenomena such as individualisation and the reflective self may have macrosociological causes and consequences. This chapter introduces Erving Goffman's microsociological analyses, which vividly illustrate the presentation of the self in concrete encounters with other people as well as encounters where individuals try to handle weak or imperfect self-presentations. It focuses on Anthony Giddens's theory of the self in reflexive modernity, which emphasises that individuals need a so-called ontological security in order to handle the uncertainty of contemporary life. Both theories focus on the microlevel, but it also aims to show how this level is associated with social order at the macrolevel, although Goffman and Giddens conceptualise this association in very different ways. In reflexive modernity, many of the underlying principles of modernity are challenged. Instead of a focus on proximity there is now a focus on the ability to operate over large distances.
