Total Institutions, Loss of Self-Identity, and the Management of Discrediting Aspects

This chapter explores the concept of total institutions, such as mental hospitals and prisons, where divisions in civilian life break down and individuals experience a loss of self-identity. The speaker discusses Erving Goffman's analysis of mental patients, prisoners, and monks, highlighting the similarities in their deprived circumstances, the planning of activities within the institutions, and the concept of mortification of the self.