I wanted to conduct a study concerning the fragmentation of identity, as I was particularly interested in issues of identity from the first year of my sociology course. I am specifically interested in Goffman's theories of mortification of the self as a result of being placed in total institutions and wish to base my research proposal mainly around his ideas presented in his book Asylums. Rather than studying mental institutions however, I am going to focus on residential homes for the elderly because I feel this will not be so ambitious and access will be much easier as I work part-time in Gorran Haven's elderly home. (Research into the elderly and their identity is scarce and therefore it may be interesting to conduct my study within this topic area.)As it is a pilot study I shall be conducting, it would seem more appropriate to keep my...