One of most influential social scientist of the twentieth century examines the meaning of the
asylum'Psychiatric staff share with policemen the peculiar occupational task of hectoring and
moralizing adults'This groundbreaking work of social science explores life in 'total
institutions': the closed regimented systems of prisons boarding schools nursing homes and
most importantly mental hospitals which cut individuals off from society. Focusing on the
relationship between an inmate and the institution that contains them Goffman unpicks how
lives are managed 'on the inside' the loss of selfhood experienced by those held there and
the ways in which they try to regain their identities.'One of the most distinguished and
provocative of social scientists' The Times
