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ABSTRACT\n\nThis study employs the dramaturgical approach to the staging ofexaminations.Infocusing on the staging we attempt to convey the university definition of the examas well as the means by which institutionally desired moods and actions arecommunicated to students.Through the use of space,props,equipment,andhuman actors the university stresses the larger societal values ofuniversalism andindividual achievement.In so doing the university develops a\"rhetoric ofidealization”to compensate for the inevitable discrepancies in fairness andequality of treatment.  \n## RÉSUMÉ\n\nCette étude part de I'aspect théatral qui entoure l'organisation des examens.Enfixant notre attention sur la mise en scene qui la caracterise,nous tachons demontrer ce qu'est un examen pour I'université et par quels moyens I'institutiontransmet aux étudiants Iétat desprit et les attitudes qu'elle désire obtenir.ParI'utilisation qu'elle fait de I'espace,des accessoires,de I'equipement et de sesacteurs,I'université met I'accent sur les grandes valeurs sociales que sontI'universalisme et lareussite individuelle.Cefaisant,I'université encourage chezPétudiant une “rhétorique de I'idealisation”dont le but est de compenser uneutilisation de la justice et de Iégalité inévitablement pleine de contradictions.  \n## The Examination as Dramaturgy\n\nThe dramaturgical approach to the understanding of social interaction stresses thecontention that meaning is conveyed by actors when they interact with each other,not only through verbal discourse'in which the meanings are mutually shared but  \n*Department of Sociology,University of Manitoba  \nAn earlier version of this paper was presented at the Qualitative Research Conference,Waterloo,Ontario,Canada.The authors wish to thank D.Rennie for comments on earlier drafts of this work.  \n'This sharing of the meanings in verbal discourse is in contrast to the McHugh and Garfinkelexperiment in which the experimenters gave the subjects garbled,nonsense replies to their questionstoward defining a situation(see Perinbanayagam,1974).  \nalso through mood,facial expression,gesture,deportment,and the whole panoplyof dramatic body language.In effect,actors work at giving a certain desiredimpression(i.e.,defining the situation)and call upon all their talents andpossessions to do so--much as is done in drama,except that in drama the plot isfictitious and so are the actors'personae.In dramaturgy,actors are projecting theirown personae as they wish them to be perceived,and the defined situations,unlikethe plots in drama,form,dissolve,and reform as the interaction progresses.  \nAs in drama,actors use not only their bodies to convey impressions,but also\"props”and “equipment\"such as a pipe,furniture,or food in the full knowledgethat objects have symbolic meanings and can be used to dramatize an intendedmessage in the same way that,as Milton put it,\"the dim religious light and theorgan's pealing notes”[in a church]\"bring all heaven before the eyes”.  \nIt is no reification to speak of an institution as an actor if the actions beingreferred to are those of the institution's functionaries acting officially on its behalf.In this study the focus is upon the use of space,props,equipment,and humanactors(invigilators)by the university in the staging of examinations.In focusingon the staging we attempt to convey the university's definition of the exam as wellas the means by which institutionally desirable moods,thoughts and actions arecommunicated to students.In our urban,bureaucratic,and industrialized societyexams are important,serious,formal affairs arranged and administered to reflectlarger societal values of universalism and individual achievement.  \nThe themes of individualism and competitive achievement are relativelyrecently emphasized societal values that came to be stressed with the developmentof industrial capitalism,and so were only recently incorporated into the mess","cbCairMm6G5aQnoX","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairMm6G5aQnoX","pdf",467712,"English","# ABSTRACT\n# The Examination as Dramaturgy\n# Methodology","[{\"question\":\"What approach does the study use to analyze examinations?\",\"answer\":\"The study employs a dramaturgical approach, focusing on how social meaning is conveyed through staged interaction rather than only verbal discourse.\"},{\"question\":\"How do universities communicate desired messages to students during exams?\",\"answer\":\"Universities use the staging of exams—through space, props, equipment, and invigilators—to communicate institutionally desired moods, thoughts, and actions.\"},{\"question\":\"What methods were used to gather data for the study?\",\"answer\":\"Data came from observations by the authors as invigilators, observations of other invigilators, tape-recorded interviews, conversations with university personnel, and insights from official historical documents.\"}]","The Institutional Staging of an Examination | PDF",1792084414,23]