Compare_and_Contrast_Two_Accounts_of_the_Role_of_the_Census_in_Making_Up_the_Uk_Population.

Compare and Contrast two accounts of the Role of the Census in making up the UK Population. In forming an answer to this question I will consider the differences in the role of the census throughout history and how these differences reflect the theories of Goffman and Foucault. I will do this by discussing the opposing views of Foucault and Goffman and how these relate to the forming of modern society. “Society is organised on the principle that any individual who possesses certain social characteristics has a moral right to expect that others will value and treat him in an appropriate way." Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Garden City, NY: Doubleday Anchor, 1959), p. 13. What is a census' Strictly speaking a census is an official, physical count of all the inhabitants of a country. A census is taken every 10 years and is aimed at providing the fullest picture of the population at a specific date in time. In contrast to other forms of census where data is retrieved on specific topics from a sample audience, the population census aims to collect and record data from the entire population on a variety of issues relevant to society at that time in history and compare the results to historical analysis of the population. The population census is an important source of information for economic and social decision makers but is dependent on full and accurate information being obtained. Although a census has been recorded as far back as biblical times, the first “official” UK census was held in 1801 and was a basic headcount of the population in response to the Government’s fears that food production would not be adequate for the growing population. The census consisted of 5 basic questions and every census since then has steadily built on these questions to match the information needed, for example, during the industrial revolution (1891) a question asking about the number of rooms in a house was introduced to address the issue of overcrowding in cities. The last census in 2001 consisted of 33 questions. As stated, the success of a census is to gather accurate information from the entire population. This information was gathered by specially trained people who would physically call at each house and facility in the country. In most cases, the head of the household would complete the form for the whole household. However, it has not always been possible to include the whole population in a census return for various reasons. In 2001, although a census form and reply envelope was delivered to every household only 94% of the forms were returned. In 1911, frustrated by the lack of progress on votes for women, a mass protest was initiated by Suffragettes to boycott the census. Through this collective teamwork the Suffragettes refused to list the females in the house or in some cases stayed away from home for the evening of the census so that they were not recorded. This ensured that the census was incomplete. So, what was the role of the 1911 census in making up the population' In my view this allowed women to have a choice and progress a cause that eventually led to early equality for women. By boycotting the census the Suffragettes classified themselves into a group of dissenters. Goffman (1959, 1971 and 1972) believed that when individuals interacted collectively with each other a theatrical performance took place with each individual changing and adjusting to control the situation and the information and perceived impression projected to the audience. Once the play concluded, the individual, or actor, can then retreat into their normal, unobserved pattern. He believed that social lives were formed by building and rebuilding these interactions. The role of the census in this theatrical performance is one of engagement. In order to gain this information, enumerators employed to gather the census information would be the first point of contact for information. Taking into account Goffman’s theory this would be the first act of the play, the initial interaction. However, the Suffragettes took centre stage by refusing to fill out the census form and, in some cases, staying away from home on the night of the census count, and they employed the backstage help of their husbands and other female occupants to carry out their play. The women were able for a short time to unite and control how they responded to an official request for information and although it would be another eight years before women who owned property would be given the vote, this protest was a major step towards that goal. In contrast. Foucault (1972, 1977, 1978) viewed social order as being shaped by knowledge and power and how discourse, “the material verbal traces left by history”, (The Archaeology of Knowledge, Tr. A.M. Sheridan Smith, London, Tavistock, p193), played a part in shaping society. Foucault believed that discourse affected all aspects of social life and contributed to different levels of power and, by researching the past, the present could be understood. As stated the census forms have evolved throughout the years to match the information needed by the decision makers. The questions asked on the form are designed not only to group individuals but also to divide the groups into sections. One example of this is the question of religion. For many years the government has asked the population of Northern Ireland about their religious affiliation but until 2001 this was not included in the mainland census and even then it was a voluntary question. Howard, 2006, pp105-106 stressed that the way questions were asked was more to do with political contestation than classification and that was the case in Northern Ireland. In 2001 71.6% of the UK population classified themselves as Christian, however, within this classification there were many versions of “Christian. Scott, 1999, declared that it was through the process of identification that states make people legible and governable. In 2001 the Government aimed to find out how many religious groups were in the UK, and lthough religious groups campaigned to have the question asked, groups and individuals chose how to classify themselves. Goffman and Foucault differed in their approach to analysing data. Goffman looked at the interaction between groups and individuals and the way they chose to portray their lives and decisions and Foucault preferred to research history and identified the census as a way of representing a group of people belonging to a nation. Foucault believed that population was defined by the state or decision makers whereas for Goffman population was made up of all the individuals living their own lives. Using my two accounts of the role of the census in making up the UK population there are elements of both views in each account. The Suffragettes boycott fits in with Foucault’s theory of historical evidence to define culture and the discourse evident in one sector of the population being excluded from a process afforded to another sector of the population, but does not fit in with the constructivist theory that a population is created by a state for the purposes of governing. To create this population the suffragettes would have had to conform with the instructions to fill out the census form accurately. Instead the Suffragettes organised a mass protest, a theatrical performance, to highlight their cause. By doing so the role of the census was to enable their voice to be heard but the result was that the state did define the population as the Suffragettes were not counted and thereby not included in the population, they could not be categorised as they effectively did not exist so could not be governed. The question of religion also has elements of both theorists. In Northern Ireland where the question has been asked for many years, Goffman’s thoughts on individuals interacting and adjusting to control the situation and the information and perceived impression projected to the audience is very relevant. Religion is an important identifier but was also a means of control for the Government who classified the population into two main religious sections and the decisions made were based on that information. In Foucault’s world the established history of religion in Ireland would have formed the basis of his observations. However, by 2001 the question was so diverse that the differences between both theories were blurred. On one hand the Government had attempted to define the religious beliefs of the population by asking people to classify themselves into specific pigeon holes but this in effect backfired when people chose not to classify themselves but to group together into one classification thereby preventing the Government from splitting that classification into groups. In conclusion, the role of the census in making up the population of the UK has been to identify various aspects of society at a particular point in time by asking specific questions and analysing the answers into categories. From starting out as tool to define the population through surveillance, the census has evolved to more closely reflect the individual needs of the population and aid decision making. The modern census is a mixture of Goffman and Foucault’s theories where some questions are closed and aimed at data collection but others are open and give people choices. Word Count 1539