My most recent community of interest has been that of greek life organizations. I don't know if it's because rush and recruitment are in the air but it seems like I can't escape all of the brotherly and sisterly love! I wonder how the idea of a community is changed when you get to pick the people who are included in it. Are the connections more intense? It would seem as though a community such as a sorority should be more real (less imagined) than an entire nation . . . but is that really so? When I think of the "families" that are created it all just seems pretty inauthentic to me, pretty imagined. Especially the way that as soon as someone new is initiated the sisters claim to love that girl as if they've known her all their lives. It's all a bit over the top if you ask me. I'm not trying to offend people who are involved in greek life by any means! I just think it's interesting that small communities of people imagine bonds similar to those an entire nation creates, that on some level all communities (even close-knit ones) are imagined.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sororities: What Would Benedict Anderson Say?
When Benedict Anderson wrote about communities he was basing his ideas around nationalism and how it makes large groups of people imagine connections between themselves and those they will never meet. But that hasn't stopped me from trying to think of ways in which this idea of imagined communities could be brought down to a much smaller scale. I find the idea of communities being all in our heads oddly fascinating because it's one of those instances where I understand that it's a tad ridiculous to feel connected to people I will never truly know and yet I still have those sentiments. It's an odd phenomenon.
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Disclaimer: I'm really not trying to offend anyone. This is just my opinion and I may be slightly biased but whatever. Speaking as someone who is NOT involved in greek life, i have to agree that I think its a bit over the top. There's something about having your friends being chosen for you (not to mention the cost...literally) that I don't quite agree with. That being said, I know plenty of people that are in greek life that have good friends outside greek life too. I also know people that love their sororities/fraternities and have really strong connections with their "sisters"/"brothers". While I think there is some superficiality involved (especially on the recruitment side), I have to admit that not all of the greek life community is imagined...they definitely share a strong bond with each other, they identify with each other, and they are similar to one another. Like anything else, the more you are involved/put effort into your "community", the more you genuinely become part of it.
ReplyDeleteWow! You make a really interesting connection that I would never have even considered. I definitely think you can make the case to say that these Greek communities are simply imagined. Though you focused solely on the individual chapters in one university (where everyone has at least met each other) as being imagined, I'm pretty sure that members of the Greek system refer to anyone who shares their letters - from different chapters of universities all over the world - as their brothers/sisters. And this relates even more to Benedict Arnold's Imagined Communities. I think it's one thing to say that all the sisters in one chapter of a sorority only have an imagined community - at least they've all met and know each other. It's another thing when those sisters say they have some sort of connection to all their 'sisters' all over the world. That is certainly much more of an 'imagined' bond in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I should respectfully bow out of this conversation, as a means to allow all of you to talk rather freely. I guess one question that I do have is about nationalism, specifically the way that Greek life has become a pretty central part of the American university system. Are there any connections, in the way that fraternity and sorority culture exists today, back to the fraternal-mentorship-type relationships (between men) in ancient Greece? Genuine ignorance on my part.
ReplyDeleteInteresting viewpoint. I think Greek organizations are an excellent example of imagined communities. It is difficult to understand how a group of women or men can form supposed "life long connections" after simply paying their dues and donning their letters. When we discussed Benedict Anderson in class I argued that imagined or not, these communities are crucial to our happiness and success in America. I believe this argument is especially applicable to Greek organizations. When the youth of our country leave home for the first time, they are desperate to find their niche and people they can rely on. Greek life provides a group that will accept you immediately (regardless of the insincerity of the connections) and this is attractive to those seeking a community. I assume Anderson would view fraternities and sororities as a clear example of his theory, and I believe that like any other supposed community, they are real in their effects and influences on their members.
ReplyDeleteI like these view points and this is an interesting topic. Although I have no want or need to join greek life I do see how this "imagined community" could come about. This is only my opinion but I don't understand the life long bond or immediate acceptance into greek life. I say this because I spent the last six years in the army. I will say that we "accept" someone immediately because the fact that they volunteered during a time of war, on the other hand you still need to prove your worth in a sense. I believe that with my experiences and surroundings the bonds that I have with the others is not imagined in this case.
ReplyDeleteAs it appears I am the only student in the class involved in greek life I suppose I should speak up. I can definitely see the connection between fraternities/sororities and Anderson's imagined communities. There are hundreds of "Pike" chapters (my fraternity) at various universities throughout the country that seem to share only a collection of greek letters and perhaps a set of ideals. Much like the shared sense of nationalism in America, I claim to have a connection with brothers across the country that I may never meet. I can see a direct link between this and Anderson's argument.
ReplyDeleteHowever I don't believe that the "Pike" community at any one given place is imagined. While many of you seem to believe that the relationships formed following rush are superficial, I can assure you they are not. During the usual 6-8 week pledging process in sororities/fraternities, the pledges are not only taught a set of ideals by brothers/sisters older and wiser than them (leadership, scholarship, etc.) but are also spending an incredible amount of time with their fellow pledges and the brothers/sisters of the organization. On top of that, the dues money paid does not go to "paying for friendship" like many of you are claiming, but rather pays for events (sporting events, retreats, formals, paintball trips, the list goes on...) in which you spend yet more quality time with your best friends. I would be friends with my brothers whether we were all in the same fraternity or not, but I may never have met them without the circumstances.
To answer Prof. Fisher: Yes there is still very much a mentorship aspect to fraternities. Many fraternities have a father/son aspect in which a pledge is assigned to a brother whom then becomes his mentor (or father) not only through pledging, but through their entire time in the fraternity.
Thanks for the response, Andrew.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not in a sorority, I do see Andrew's point. Honestly, a lot of friendships are formed out of convenience. For example, a lot of the friends I made freshman year became my friends because they lived on my floor, not because we share a lot in common. It's difficult to meet people your first year at college, so I think Greek life is a good way to do that. Generally speaking, you join a fraternity in which you get along well with the members and find commonalities with them. Therefore, I think Benedict Anderson would actually consider fraternities "real" communities.
ReplyDelete