Blog 3

So far I have researched facts about fraternities on the internet and various stereotypes that are associated with them. I have also established what medias and films portray these stereotypes. I plan on asking people how they feel about Greek life and to find out what the overall consensus of it is. For members, I plan on asking them how they feel about the stereotypes and if they thought they would be in a fraternity when they arrived to Ball State. Upon visiting my field site, I plan to examine the house and how people interact within it. I have done academic research on the internet and I plan to go to the library to see what they would have about Greek life. I believed there isn't much of a difference between academic and non-academic research. Academic research is more book study as non-academic research is more applied and inserted in your field site. Regardless of the type of research you do, I feel that research is research and they both aim at the same goal.

Blog 2

The subculture that I am planning on doing my project about is the Greek life on campus. As I am in a fraternity I have easy access to many of the required materials. My main field site would be the Theta Chi fraternity house. This is where 28 of the brothers live and would be the best place to interview my brothers. I will also be able to interview my friends in other fraternities and sororities. I plan on talking to non-greeks and rushees as well. I hope to delve deeper onto Greek life and learn more about other Greek life traditions other than the one I already know.

Box 11 Positioning Yourself:

My reason for choosing to do the Greek life subculture is mainly for the convenience of the subculture and my want to explore deeper into the Greek life system. I believe that it will help me understand the Greek system more easily. My gender might be a factor for finding more information about sororities. As I am an active member in the Greek system that is for the most part the only problem with my fixed position. As I am an active member, I may be more pro-Greek than an average person would be.

Examining The Greek Life Culture

I am planning to examine the Greek life culture for my project. There are various texts such as a fraternity or sorority's charter or member's manual. These materials would not be hard to get a hold of as I have multiple friends and myself included have access to these materials. I can also go to a fraternity or sorority's chapter and observe what kind of topics are discussed, how they interact, and the difference between the fraternity and sorority's chapter. As an "insider" I will have easy access to members in which I can be able to interview them. This project is also during the time of rush week so I will be able to interview non-members, pledges, and members. I hope to be able to break some of the common stereotypes of Greek life.

Subcultures I belong to

From the east coast(Virginia):
Say soda and not pop.
Not used to the extremely cold weather.
Virginia is typically known for their football.

Athlete:
People tend to misinterpret athletes as "Jocks."

From the south:
People tend to think of southerners as "hicks" or "hillbillies" but I was born and raised in a suburb and do not have the farm raised typical southern lifestyle.


Being an athlete, the common sterotypes are being uneducated, and having a snotty kind of additude. Thry think that the only way the get through school is that their teachers bump up their grades just because they benefit the school athletically. I think that I set an example for this stereotype being untrue as I have been accepted into this institution without any athletic schlorship. Also if you get to know me, I most likely have the opposite additude of the typical "jock." I definitely accept everyone that I come across and am very easy to get along with.

Last Minute Book Report

For my history final, I had to write a six page book report for the novel "On the Beach". As I was piled up with other homework, I waited until the night before to write it.I had spent most of the days before trying frantically to finish reading the book. I ended up staying up until three in the morning trying to finish it. When I write, I typically start off with music playing but I tend to get distracted easily and when I really need to focus I go to the study lounge where it is completely quiet. Every since high school teachers have promoted outlining and brainstorming before you write a paper. I have never found good use of that and I like to just jot down all of my ideas as I go. Last semester I definitely saw my writing level get better. Throughout high school, I was comfortable with writing about three to four pages and not much more. With this last semester, I feel that I can go about six to eight pages comfortably on just about any subject. I hope to improve a lot more this semester.