Blog 7

The most useful information I can give back to my culture would be the interviews of the non-Greeks. It can help my fraternity see how others view different subjects involving Greek life. It will be able to help us tend to non-Greeks needs and overall help us recruit. It can also help us become closer as a brotherhood by using specific examples given in the texts have read. Recruitment is the biggest worry for fraternities and I believe with my research, I will be able to become a big help in recruiting.

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first impressions

I didn't know what to expect when I first set foot into my subculture. I had been texting the recruiter but had never actually met him before and here I was letting him take me to someplace I've never even heard of. Once I got to our house I seemed very nervous. Everyone was talking and having a good time and it seemed like everyone knew each other. Before I became involved with the fraternity I had always thought you needed to know someone to get in and that you were lucky to be able to get in. I had no clue how much fraternities needed you. I started talking to a couple people but I mainly just tried to stick with the recruiter and follow him around since he was the only person I have ever talked to before. Looking back, it seems very dumb to be nervous and now I am the complete opposite around my brothers. The fraternity has definitely helped me with my social skills.

I was a total outsider coming to the site for the first time. I had never been involved or knew anyone in the Greek system. I just kept thinking about the movie "Animal House" and how they had just left the bidders in a corner and didn't talk to them. It wasn't really like that at all. Most everyone was fairly friendly and seemed interested in who you were. Going through pledgeship I didn't really shed my skin until about my third week.

As I am now an insider, there are a couple things that limit me from having full accessiblity. Such as, at the moment, I do not hold any major or executive positions in my chapter. I also have not been to a National Grand Chapter before and have not experienced what it is like to be there.

Blog 6

The Fraternity Experience.North-American Interfraternity Conference.19 Feb. 2009.

This website is an overview of all fraternities. It isn't designated to any particular fraternity and it explains what Greek life is meant to be. It goes in-depth of the positive aspects of fraternal life and it dismembers some of the common myths of Greek life. It explains hazing and how it is a thing of the past and how Greek life is not all that similar as it is portrayed in film.


This site can definitely help me as it has a lot of raw information about what fraternities are for, the history, and common questions about fraternities. It will help me become less biased towards my particular fraternity and be able to explain all of Greek life more.




Slivinske, Dale A. and David L. Westol.The Manual of Theta Chi Fraternity.Indianapolis,IN: Theta Chi Fraternity Inc, 1998.

This is the main source of information I can pull from my particular fraternity. It hold our traditions and ideals as well as our history. It explains the nation headquarters and grand chapter and explains the meaning of being a Theta Chi.


This text will be able to get more in-depth about my person fraternity. It will help me explain the meaning and the true values of my fraternity. It is an easy direct source of our history. The book holds special meaning to me as it is given solely to Theta Chi pledges and is the main writing for my fraternity.

Box 18

For my culture, my site would be the Theta Chi fraternity house. I see this place as a host to social aspiration. It is the best place to just go hang out with your friends or when you are feeling down a place to go cheer up. There is always something going on at the house and there is always someone willing to listen. I know this due to the fact that I am a member of the fraternity but from an outsider standpoint, it might not seem as welcoming. As a new member or someone not correlated with fraternities at all, you could observe others interacting but it might be a very intimidating place to be when you don't know anyone that well. They could be nervous or unsure of how to act around the members. The biggest part of getting around the nervousness is just relaxing and being yourself.

In Class Writing: Culture Shock.

My most recent form of "culture shock" would have to be when I came to Indiana this summer for fall semester. As I have lived in Virginia my whole life, there was quite a bit of differences between the two. A main short of struggle I have everyday is with the word "pop." My roommate says it and just about everyone I know says it and I have promised myself that no matter if I spend the rest of my life in Indiana, I will never say pop. It is called soda. Another thing would be living on the east coast you would see movies such as "Rudy" and "Hoosiers." I believed that basketball was life in Indiana and that everyone would be good at it to an extent. I don't know if it's because I'm at a smaller school or what but most people just seem to be average at it just like everyone else. In Virginia, I was probably one of the bigger, taller people in my school. Standing at 6'1 and 180 pounds I thought I was at a decent size. I wouldn't realize that I was so small until I came here during orientation and saw how huge most of the men here were.

Blog 5

The main thing i need to focus on is getting more information about Greek life from outsiders. For example, what their perspective is of it and why they choose not to be Greek. This can be researched by just interviewing more people. I would like to investigate how the new pledges interact in the environment now that they are pledges instead of rushers. I can accomplish this by being at the fieldsite more often. I plan on finishing it by basically tieing up the loose ends and researching every aspect of the assignment thoroughly.

These are just some of the pictures I have accumulated over the years.

Box 15

The best sensory image for me was going to the soccer pitch. You could hear children happily playing on the nearby playground. As a player, you could feel the pressure mounting on you as your parents and other spectators watched your every move. The smell of sweat and Gatorade seemed to follow you wherever you went. As the beginning whistle blew, everything you had been thinking about whether it was school work or girl problems had vanished and it was just you and the other team standing in front of your goal.

DogTown

Do you feel this is an ethnographic study, a work of entertainment, both? Explain your answer.

I believe that it is both. It’s an ethnographic study because they are examining the skateboarding and surfing scene. It is also interesting to see from a skateboarder or surfers perspective how they see the life.
Who are the interview subjects and why are they important? What roles do the interviews play? Do they move the story along? Lend a perspective on the subculture?
The interview subjects are skaters and surfer from dogtown back when the culture was just starting. They basically started the revolution. The interviews give the perspective of the revolutionaries.

What are some of the attitudes, beliefs, rituals, artifacts, etc. that make this group a subculture?

The way they dress, long hair, the laid-back kind of style of the way they talk. They wanted it to be locals only, they did whatever possible to disallow outsiders from coming and surfing.

What is the structure of the piece? How is it organized? Does this help or inhibit your understanding of the subculture?

It is structured with clips of people skating with the interviews audio patched over it. It is not very organized but it gives you the feel of the culture more that way.

What were some of the stereotypes you held about skateboarders before watching this? Do those stereotypes still hold true? If so, why? If not, what changed your perspective?

I had believed that they were for the most part a whole separate cliche from everyone else and that they were kind of individualistic. My view changed by finding out that many more people used to skateboard and how surfing and skateboarding are correlated.

The rhetorical triangle (ethos – do we trust what the creator of this is telling us…? What if you knew the filmmaker was also one of the skaters? Pathos – what emotional response did you have and why? Logos – how was the piece constructed?)

I believe the creator is an outsider who is interviewing insiders directly from the source. He has some sort of connections to be able to access the people he is interviewing. I would consider the documentary to be bias if the creator was an insider but not to an extent to where I wouldn’t believe in the documentary. The documentary made me more interested in the skateboarding culture. The piece was structured with clips of what was happening and the interviews taped over them with the people being interviewed explaining what was going on at that time.

Blog 4

I do believe that my subculture most likely is unique due to multiple reasons. Since I did Greek life, all the essential rituals should be the same across the nation but the way they are carried out could possibly be different. Schools such as Indiana University and Purdue probably much different ways of carrying out their objectives due to the size of their school resulting in the size of the Greek life. Also different schools have different rules and regulations as well that could dictate how things may be carries out. My general conclusion is that the basis for Greek life remains intact but the way things are carried on vary.

Box 12 Unlearning Our Privilege

Privileges:

Ability to smoke(age)
Bill of Rights freedoms(nationality)
Good grades to get into a division one school
Grew up in a good family
Grew in a safe city
Came from a top school system
Have created a good social network
Grew up in a financially secure family


The privileges I have allowed me to research without interruption or worry for my safety. It allows me to interact with my field and access any possible information i may need. Also the way I grew up affects my beliefs and the experiences I have been through affect my judgment in certain situations.