ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the work of the Canadian-born sociologist Erving Goffman (1922–82). It draws on examples from the world of sail training to explore the ways sociological approaches such as interactionism and, in particular, Goffman’s concept of the ‘total institution’ can help us to frame, interpret and analyse the situations in which adventure educators work. Goffman’s work does not fit easily into any of the usual schemes for categorizing different sociological approaches, and he is often regarded as something of a maverick – someone who pursued his own ideas and preoccupations without much regard to what else may have been happening in the academic community around him. He is said to have been somewhat reclusive – the opposite of the celebrity academic – but is nevertheless regarded as one of the key figures in twentieth-century sociology.
