FramingFraming

“What is it that’s going on here?”

Notes from Erving Goffmanby Stephanie Jo Kent

“What is it that’s going on here?”

Notes from Erving Goffmanby Stephanie Jo Kent

Small Group ActivitySmall Group Activity

1. What is a “frame”? What does the term evoke or mean?

2. Is a frame something you find out after the fact, or something that you create?

3. How might “framing” be different than a “frame”?

1. What is a “frame”? What does the term evoke or mean?

2. Is a frame something you find out after the fact, or something that you create?

3. How might “framing” be different than a “frame”?

organizing experienceorganizing experience

What have you been doing for the past five minutes?

How did you know what “to do”?What principles of the

event/situation provide guidance for making sense of what (and how) “to do”?

What kinds of things could happen that might challenge the understanding of what/how “to do”?

What have you been doing for the past five minutes?

How did you know what “to do”?What principles of the

event/situation provide guidance for making sense of what (and how) “to do”?

What kinds of things could happen that might challenge the understanding of what/how “to do”?

Erving GoffmanErving Goffman

Frame: “definitions of a situation are built up in accordance with principles of organization which govern events – at least social ones – and our subjective involvement in them” (1974: 10-11).

the frame is presumed by how people do get on…

Frame: “definitions of a situation are built up in accordance with principles of organization which govern events – at least social ones – and our subjective involvement in them” (1974: 10-11).

the frame is presumed by how people do get on…

Frame Analysis:Frame Analysis:

“a slogan to refer to the examination of these terms of the organization of experience” (1974: 11).

Aim? “to isolate some of the basic

frameworks of understanding available in our society for making sense out of events and to analyze the special vulnerabilities to which these frames of reference are subject” (1974: 10).

“a slogan to refer to the examination of these terms of the organization of experience” (1974: 11).

Aim? “to isolate some of the basic

frameworks of understanding available in our society for making sense out of events and to analyze the special vulnerabilities to which these frames of reference are subject” (1974: 10).

Frame Conflict: Donald SchönFrame Conflict: Donald Schön

“Framing and naming are ways of setting boundaries to things, giving coherence where it would otherwise be lacking. He gives the example of a slum could either be framed as a "blight" (to be excised) or as a "community" (calling for enhancement as a vehicle for social learning). Frames construct the phenomena the user takes to be "there". They provide ways of framing reality. Things are only seldom unframed. People are obliged to deal with realities that have already been framed. Through different frames different realities may be constructed -- leading to frame conflict.”

“Framing and naming are ways of setting boundaries to things, giving coherence where it would otherwise be lacking. He gives the example of a slum could either be framed as a "blight" (to be excised) or as a "community" (calling for enhancement as a vehicle for social learning). Frames construct the phenomena the user takes to be "there". They provide ways of framing reality. Things are only seldom unframed. People are obliged to deal with realities that have already been framed. Through different frames different realities may be constructed -- leading to frame conflict.”

Re-framing: Re-framing:

A generative metaphor in Schön's terms is characterized by the carrying over of frames or perspectives from one domain to another. It allows for frame re-structuring when frame conflict exists. The notion of a generative metaphor may be extended to include a proposed metaphor that frames socially constructed reality in a new, more complex way (S Srivastva and F Barrett, 1988).

A generative metaphor in Schön's terms is characterized by the carrying over of frames or perspectives from one domain to another. It allows for frame re-structuring when frame conflict exists. The notion of a generative metaphor may be extended to include a proposed metaphor that frames socially constructed reality in a new, more complex way (S Srivastva and F Barrett, 1988).

conceptual componentsconceptual components

strip of activitykeys and keyingSuspicion and Doubt

Containment, inadequate infoConcern about the key

metaphor of theatre

strip of activitykeys and keyingSuspicion and Doubt

Containment, inadequate infoConcern about the key

metaphor of theatre

PerformancePerformance

StagedStraight“purity” - based on

exclusiveness of claim to attention; refers to the official face of the activity

MixedInteraction (“performer”

“audience”)

StagedStraight“purity” - based on

exclusiveness of claim to attention; refers to the official face of the activity

MixedInteraction (“performer”

“audience”)

Everyday us with each other, tooEveryday us with each other, too

“The first issue isnot interaction but frame.”

Erving Goffman. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience1974: 127

“The first issue isnot interaction but frame.”

Erving Goffman. Frame Analysis: An Essay on the Organization of Experience1974: 127

group dynamics?group dynamics?

“A frame conflict is an alternative way of describing the communication dynamics of mis/understanding that occur when people who think through (as in “from” or “on the basis of”) different paradigms attempt to find agreement on a matter of mutual concern.”

“A frame conflict is an alternative way of describing the communication dynamics of mis/understanding that occur when people who think through (as in “from” or “on the basis of”) different paradigms attempt to find agreement on a matter of mutual concern.”

additional citationsadditional citations

Social Construction of Reality ~ wikipedia (Berger & Luckmann, 1966) ~ wikipedia

Frame Conflict, Donald Schön, Transformative approaches project – commentaries, 6.1 Configuring: Using disagreements for superordinate frame configuration, http://www.uia.be/en/node/157?kap=23, retrieved 24 January 2008

Social Construction of Reality ~ wikipedia (Berger & Luckmann, 1966) ~ wikipedia

Frame Conflict, Donald Schön, Transformative approaches project – commentaries, 6.1 Configuring: Using disagreements for superordinate frame configuration, http://www.uia.be/en/node/157?kap=23, retrieved 24 January 2008

additional citationsadditional citations

Re-Framing (Schön) Transformative approaches project – commentaries, 6.1 Configuring: Using disagreements for superordinate frame configuration, http://www.uia.be/en/node/157?kap=23, retrieved 24 January 2008

Frame Conflict & Group Dynamics (Kent) http://www.reflexivity.us/blog/archives/2008/01/the-chaos-of-fr.html retrieved 24 January 2008

Re-Framing (Schön) Transformative approaches project – commentaries, 6.1 Configuring: Using disagreements for superordinate frame configuration, http://www.uia.be/en/node/157?kap=23, retrieved 24 January 2008

Frame Conflict & Group Dynamics (Kent) http://www.reflexivity.us/blog/archives/2008/01/the-chaos-of-fr.html retrieved 24 January 2008