TOTAL INSTITUTIONS: IS THERE VALIDITY IN THE CONCEPT OF MORTIFICATION OF THE SELF PROPOSED BY GOFFMAN TODAY?

Abstract

This article aimed to analyze the actuality of total institutions and the conservation of characteristics present in the process of mortification of the self, proposed by sociologist Erving Goffman in 1961. Based on this author's studies on total institutions and the idea that the individual loses his identity and personality in such environments, we sought to investigate whether this process still exists and occurs in the same way, considering the passage of years since the research was carried out, as well as the cultural changes and technological advances that have occurred until the present day. A qualitative, descriptive, basic and integrative review research was conducted, based on the analysis of documents, legislation, archives and bibliographies about the five groups of total institutions described by the author. As a methodology for understanding the processes of institutionalization and the impacts on the lives of the affected people. Then, a comparative analysis was carried out with studies already carried out on the subject. In contemporary times, there is a persistence of elements of the process of mortification of the self and institutionalization proposed by Goffman, especially in contexts such as therapeutic institutions, prison units and barracks. However, there is a growing awareness and efforts to balance disciplinary control in institutions such as long-term care facilities for the elderly with more humanized approaches, recognizing the importance of preserving individual identity. In today's convents, nuns have more autonomy and freedom. In the end, a deeper understanding of the conservation or not of the process of mortification of the self in total institutions today was obtained.