The Pursuit of Attention: Power and Individualism in Everyday Life

by Derber,Charles

• ISBN13: 9780870738852
• ISBN10: 0870738852
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1979-01-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

"Enough about me," goes the old saying, "what about you? What do you think about me?" Hence the pursuit of attention is alive and well. Even the Oxford English Dictionary reveals a modern coinage to reflect the chase in our technological age: "ego-surfing"--searching the Internet for occurrences of your own name. What is the cause of this obsessive need for others' recognition? This useful and popular volume, now in a second edition that features major new introductory and concluding essays, entertainingly ponders this question. Derber argues that there is a general lack of social support in today's America, one which causes people to vie hungrily for attention, and he shows how individuals will often employ numerous techniques to turn the course of a conversation towards themselves. Illustrating this "conversational narcissism" with sample dialogues that will seem disturbingly familiar to all readers, this book analyzes the pursuit of attention in conversation--as well as in politics and celebrity culture--and demonstrates the ultimate importance of gender, class, and racial differences in competing for attention. Derber shows how changes in the economy and culture--such as the advent of the Internet--have intensified the rampant individualism and egotism of today. And finally, in a new afterword, he focuses on solutions: how to restructure the economy and culture to humanize ourselves and increase the capacity for community, empathy, and attention-giving.

Author Biography

Charles Derber is professor of sociology at Boston College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction to the Second Edition	p. xi
Informal Dynamics Individualism
Introduction	p. 2
Every Man for Himself; Every Woman for Herself: Individualism Face-to-Face	p. 9
Monopolizing the Conversation: On Being Civilly Egocentric	p. 18
Formal Dynamics Power
Introduction	p. 34
The Gift of Attention-Giving: On Women Imposed	p. 38
Attention for Sale: The Hidden Privileges of Class	p. 57
On One's Own: The Overburdened Self and the Need for Attention	p. 78
Conclusion to the Second Edition	p. 89
Notes	p. 105
Bibliography	p. 124
Index	p. 129
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