 Erving Goffman ( 11 June 1922 – 19 November 1982 ) was a Canadian @-@ American sociologist and writer , considered " the most influential American sociologist of the twentieth century " . In 2007 he was listed by The Times Higher Education Guide as the sixth most @-@ cited author in the humanities and social sciences , behind Anthony Giddens and ahead of Jürgen Habermas . 
