This video is an overview of Module 4.

1. Slide 1
Hello. This is Dr. Vermette. Welcome to Module 4 of Sociology 101.
Slide 2
We will be studying the many ways people interact. There are different types of
social interaction. The example from earlier in the chapter of strangers on a train is
an example of what Goffman called unfocused interaction. In unfocused interaction
people are aware of the others around them and may engage in civil inattention.
We will look at Goffman’s work in which he looks at how people interact with one
another. Are our interactions focused? What do our expressions reveal?
Slide 3
There are three important reasons why the study of daily life is central to sociology.
First, our daily routines teach us a lot about ourselves as social beings and about
social life. What we do over the course of the day reveals patterns of behavior and
how social life is structured.
Second, studying daily life reveals how we act creatively to shape reality. This
happens through social interaction, which is the process by which we act and react
to the people around us. Another term for social interaction is microsociology,
which you may remember from Chapter 1 of the textbook. How we react to others
and how they react to us affects our perceptions of reality.
Third, we learn a lot about larger social systems and institutions by studying social
interactions in everyday life. Social systems and social institutions are made up of
structured and organized relationships between people who are engaged in social
interactions.
Many social interactions take place between persons sharing a physical space, but
many others take place remotely or in cyberspace. You will notice that the
sociological study of daily life presented in this chapter will explore how new forms
of social interaction made possible by communication technologies like email,
Internet chatting, texting, and social networking sites like Facebook affect daily life.
Slide 4
We will continue our study of social interaction by discovering how sociologists
view interactions as having a time-space dimension.
Slide 5
We will become familiar with the works of Hall, Garfinkel and others who studied
concepts such as personal space and social interaction. We will also look at the
impact of the Internet on social interaction

2. Slide 6
This week you will read Chapter 5, Social Interaction and Everyday Life in the Age of
Internet.
You will watch a videos about impression management and Goffman’s works.
You have a Db which also addresses the concept of impression management.
Lastly, you will take a Weekly Quiz which covers the content your read in Chapter 5.
Thank you.