• Good general texts are Joel M. Charon, Symbolic Interactionism: An Introduction, An Interpretation, An Integration, 7th ed, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2000; and John P. Hewitt, Self and Society: A Symbolic Interactionist Social Psychology, Boston, Allyn and Bacon, 1991. 
• Because Mead is a root, rather than a branch, of communication theory, symbolic interactionism's influence is pervasive in our field.  Recent studies that owe a heavy intellectual debt to Mead and Blumer include:
  • Lonnie Athens, “The Belated Appearance of ‘Radical Interactionism’ on the American Sociological Stage: The Rise of G.H.Mead and Fall of Robert Park,”  American Sociologist, Vol. 48, 2017, pp. 23-47.
  • Michael J. Carter and Celene Fuller, Carter, M. (2016). “Symbols, Meaning and Action: The Past, Present, and Future of Symbolic Interactionism,” Current Sociology, Vol. 64, 2016, pp. 931-961.

 Applied Symbolic Interactionism

• If you or your students have an interest in the dramaturgical issues raised by Goffman, we recommend recent work in performance theory.  The journal Text and Performance Quarterly is a good place to begin. 
• Exploring the notion of the “me” when dealing with conforming to social norms
  • Paul Hughes, “Using Symbolic Interactionism Insights as an Approach to Helping the Individual with Asperger’s Syndrome Overcome Barriers to Social Inclusion,” British Journal of Special Education, Vol. 43, 2016, pp. 60-74.
• For students interested in sports
  • Shannon M. Baird and Kerry R. McGannon, “Mean(ing) to Me: A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Aggression in Sport Psychology,” Quest, Vol. 61, 2009, pp. 377-396.
  • Ketra L. Armstrong, “Self, Situations, and Sport Consumption: An Exploratory Study of Symbolic Interactionism,” Journal of Sport Behavior, Vol. 30, 2007, pp. 111-129.
• Symbolic interactionism and discussions of sexuality
  • Monica A. Longmore, “Symbolic Interactionism and the Study of Sexuality,” Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 35, 1998, pp. 44-57.
  • Ken Plummer, “Queers, Bodies, and Postmodern Sexualities: A Note on Revisiting the 'Sexual' in Symbolic Interactionism,” Qualitative Sociology, Vol. 26, 2003, pp. 515-530.

The Pygmalion Effect

• For discussion of the Pygmalion Effect and self-fulfilling prophecy, see:
  • Larry W. Howard, Thomas Li-Ping Tang, and M. Jill Austin, “Teaching Critical Thinking Skills: Ability, Motivation, Intervention, and the Pygmalion Effect,” Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 128, 2015, pp. 133-147.
  • Len Karakowsky, Nadia DeGama, and Kenneth McBey, “Deconstructing Higgins: Gender Bias in the Pygmalion Phenomenon,” Gender in Management: An International Journal, Vol. 32, 2017, pp. 2-18.
  • William P. Nye, “George Herbert Mead and the Paradox of Prediction,” Sociology of Religion, 38, 1977, pp. 91-105.
  • Rosenthal, R. & Jacobson, L.  Pygmalion in the Classroom, Holt, New York, 1968 (reprinted 1992 by Crown House Publishing, Norwalk, CT).
  • Norbert Wiley “The Self as Self-Fulfilling Prophecy,” Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 26, 2003, pp. 501-513.