Doubling Down on Goffman: A Commentary on Dmitri Shalin’s ‘Erving Goffman, Fateful Action, and the Las Vegas Gambling Scene’

Erving Goffman “was not a sociologist of any particular area” (Scheff 2006: 20). He was, in fact, a sociologist of many areas: the interaction order, stigma, “total institutions,” gender, “forms of talk,” public behaviour – and gambling certainly belongs to the list. He may be better known for these other topics, but his contributions to the sociological analysis of gambling are canonical. Thus, another sociological hat can be worn. A unique, inventive social scientist, Goffman could pull off the donning of many such hats. Bucking the standard presentation of social scientific research in journal articles, Goffman was the “master of the long essay,” a format “ungainly in the social sciences” (Handler 2012: 180; Smith and Jacobsen 2010). “Where the Action Is” (Goffman 1967) is a rich, long essay, manifesting the originality and insight found across his oeuvre. With this essay, Goffman proclaims himself a gambling romantic – situated among those sociologists and social theorists who positively valued gambling activities in the face of the levelling tendencies and utilitarian values of modern society (Walter Benjamin, George Bataille, and Roger Caillois come to mind as well). The positive valuing of gambling is clearly expressed in “Where the Action Is,” prompting Downes et al (1976: 17) to remark on the social scientific significance of the piece that it “lifts gambling out of the moral abyss into which successive generations of commentators and reformers have consigned it and renders possible a consideration of its meaning which is freed from a priori association of a negative kind.

The Grizzly, March 26, 1982

Dr. Eugene Miller Retires This Spring • Board Names Council Chairman • SPC Elects Hanlon as New Grizzly Editor • News Briefs: Huggers Needed!; Take Action Against Financial Aid Cuts; UC Food Day Helps Fight World Hunger • Think Tank Discusses Energy Conservation • Production of Vanities • New Dates for UC Photo Class • Hooters at UC for Concert • What\u27s Around Town on the Silver Screen • USGA Notes • Sports Brief: W\u27s Tennis Ready to Go; Field Hockey Back From England • W\u27s Track Club is Tough • Batman Drop Close One • M\u27s Lacrosse Looking Tough • UC Track Team Explodes for Big Win • Veterans Plus Youth Equals Excitement • W\u27s Lacrosse Opens With Victoryhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1076/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, April 15, 1983

Second Attack: Improvements Sought for Security • New Senior Fund • Seminar Planned • The A\u27s Come to Helfferich Hall • Letter to the Editor: Most Abominable Act • Faculty Promotions Approved • President\u27s Corner • Sexual Assault in Quad • Security Tips • Nuclear Freeze Concert • Ursinus Representatives at UN • Ice Cream Night at Bear\u27s Den • Final Exam Schedule • Republicans for Rock! • Escape From Ursinus • Bear Batsmen Drop Slugfest • Men\u27s Track Evens Up • Men\u27s Tennis Nets Two Wins • Girls\u27 Nets Optimistic • Men\u27s Lacrosse Victorioushttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1098/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, October 7, 1983

Career Workshops Held • What\u27s in a Name • Fago Opens Lecture Series • Lantern Makes National Anthology • Campus Memo • Letters to the Editor • Red and Gold Days Inaugurated • Sorority Pledging Underway • Half-Price Student Rushes for Genty! • Keep it Clean • Renaissance Play at Ursinus Commemoration • ATO Incident at Penn • Politics Sells Papers • Yearbook Sale Begins Monday • Ursinus Soccer Romps Over Hopkins • Volleyball Scores Second Victory • Grizzlies Fall to Swarthmorehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1103/thumbnail.jp

The Grizzly, October 21, 1983

The Book Store Dilemma • NYT Editor Tells Missile Story • Gorch Fock Arrives • German President Ends Conference • Registration for Spring Semester 1984 • Club Sponsors Health Run • APO\u27s Credit Card Drive • Cantatas for College Choir • Reformation Discussion • Mandragola Features Freshmen, Fago, Frazier • What Sting Sings • French Thriller • Doctor Talks Health • Grizzlies Drop Heartbreaker to Hopkins • Bear Pack Strives to Overcome Adversity • Phys. Ed Club Sponsors Health Run • U.C. Soccer Bids for MAC Berthhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1104/thumbnail.jp

How sharing can contribute to more sustainable cities

\ua9 2017 by the authors. Recently, much of the literature on sharing in cities has focused on the sharing economy, in which people use online platforms to share underutilized assets in the marketplace. This view of sharing is too narrow for cities, as it neglects the myriad of ways, reasons, and scales in which citizens share in urban environments. Research presented here by the Liveable Cities team in the form of participant workshops in Lancaster and Birmingham, UK, suggests that a broader approach to understanding sharing in cities is essential. The research also highlighted tools and methods that may be used to help to identify sharing in communities. The paper ends with advice to city stakeholders, such as policymakers, urban planners, and urban designers, who are considering how to enhance sustainability in cities through sharing

Nixr: Technical Report

In today society a vast majority of people are attaining qualifications in the beauty industry. However there are a limited number of jobs available in salons and beauty bars. This trend sees many professionals creating their own business start up’s, either working from home or doing group callouts. This has become a huge trend on social media as newly graduates or unemployed professionals don’t charge half as much as a salon or beauty bar. As a result of this there is a large demand for these professionals in regular and last minute/emergency bookings. Facebook is a great way to advertise and showcase your work in this industry. Although it isn’t practical or sufficient when it comes to scheduling appointments, contacting a professional or simply just seen who is available around your location to accept you’re booking. By the end of 2016 there will be 4.7 billion mobile users and yet there are currently no apps on the market to manage all of these issues in one place. Currently social media, web sites, salons and word of mouth are currently the only way you can arrange an appointment for one of these professions. For my final year project I have developed a program that I have called “Nixer” which will allow both professionals and customers to access services in a quick and effective. Nixer allows users to open the app and instantly see the available professionals within their location, request an immediate or future booking. I designed my application using Android Xml files to create the UI layout, and Java as my programming language. Nixer uses an SQL database hosted online to store and retrieves any user data, this is used to retrieve all information provided by users. My application connects to the database using PHP scripts to define the methods for retrieving data. I started of testing my application using androids emulator but as I progressed certain features became a task in itself to run on the emulator, I then switched to a physical device

Revisiting a classic: Roger Caillois on Gambling and Culture

Roger Caillois’ classic text Man, Play and Games (published in French in 1958, and English in 1961) sought to provide an overarching analysis of the cultural significance of play and games, and was also one of the few mid-century texts to provide a serious discussion of the place of gambling in culture. This paper will revisit some of the main themes in Caillois’ book, situating gambling in relation to games, and discuss some of the tensions presented by Caillois’ analysis. It will also draw upon Caillois’ discussion of agon (competition) and alea (chance) to provide an interpretation of the place of gambling in contemporary late modern/capitalist culture. Implications: Caillois’ book provides important concepts for the sociological and cultural analysis of gambling, and a framework for theorizing the ubiquity of gambling in late modern culture. Particularly relevant are his formulations related to the concepts of agon (competition) and alea (chance) as these can be applied to particular socio-historical formations. These formulations can be productively applied in relation to various social forces in late modern culture

Where Isn\u27t the Action?

This paper responds to the suggestion by Dmitri Shalin (2016) that the “momentous changes that have transformed the entertainment and gaming industry call for further investigation into the evolving status of fateful action.” Where Erving Goffman stated that “gambling is the prototype of action,” he did not distinguish among types of gambling or their characterological implications. Since Goffman’s time, gambling in various forms has become ubiquitous and embedded into everyday life. As such, this embeddedness suggests not only the widespread availability of action, but that what Goffman referred to as “character” needs to be rethought for these changed conditions. Further, the paper will take up the availability and pursuit of action in other domains of life, particularly insofar as late modern life has been shaped by various effects of financialization. Shalin, Dmitri N. 2106. “Erving Goffman, Fateful Action, and the Las Vegas Gambling Scene,” UNLV Gaming Research and Review April 20 (1): 1-3