2002. vol. 2. No. 2

The proposed text is a translation of a chapter of late methodological work by Erving Goffman “Frame Analysis”. The chapter discusses topics related to the links between a human activity and its environment that comprises outside world as well as other activities. From Goffman’s point of view, the ability to delimit a particular performed activity from ongoing world is, on the one hand, something that the actors bring from the outside world, but, on the other hand, is a part of the performance itself. According to Goffman, activity framed in a particular way — especially collectively organized social activity — is often marked off from the ongoing flow of surrounding events by a special set of boundary markers or brackets of a conventionalized kind. Founding his analysis on various materials — memoirs, newspaper columns, plays, etiquette handbooks, etc. — Goffman shows how these brackets allow the “beginning” and “ending” of particular event. The brackets are divided into external and internal. External brackets are temporal limiters introduced from outside of the situation, while the inner brackets mark brief pauses within an ongoing activity, the pauses to be held as time-out-of-frame. In addition to the brackets Goffman examines the ways in which relationships are built between specific frames of activity and the nature of person-role formula it sustains. In the analysis of the constituent elements of person-role formula he considers such topics as casting, restricting social standards, responsibility for actions, actions out-of-frame. Finally, Goffman discusses the problem of resource continuity and unconnectedness between activities.

The new translation of the small fragment from H. Spencer’s “The Principles of Sociology” is presented (Part II, Chapter 1). It’s preceded by justification of the need to translate this work into Russian anew. Though this book was translated into Russian several times before revolution of 1917, these translations have performed their familiarizing function long ago and do not correspond to the current state of Russian sociological vocabulary.  Furthermore, previous translations contain many substantive distortions of the text, alien additions, artificial heaviness and great omissions (including the whole chapter on religious institutions). New adequate translation of “The Principles of Sociology” is maintained to be one of the important tasks, in view of the current rise of attention to Spencer’s works and theories in international sociology.