On Thursday I attended my field site where I was to observe sororities. I didn’t have to go far to spot some on the campus on GSU especially not at noon on Thursday since that was one of the “plaza” days for the Greek organizations. As the DJ was playing music and everybody was in the Unity Plaza socializing, some of the sororities started strolling. Strolling is a combination of stepping and dancing, but it’s done in a uniform line. Different Sororities have different have their different styles as far as the strolls. Some have the stereotype of being more aggressive, and therefore it shows in their strolls with the hard steps while others try portraying the class looks and their strolls are lot calmer.
Member of this subculture didn’t interact with members of a different sorority; rather they stayed within the boundaries of their own. It’s as if they all hold a personal grudge against other members of the NPHC sororities excluding the members that have the same membership in the organizations as they do. There wasn’t any terminology used that I didn’t not previously know before I visited my field site. The opportunity did not come up where I was able to talk to any member of any sorority because everybody had class right after the festivities.
I had mixed feelings about this field site. It did show a side of the sororities and how the react in a social setting. There is however, many more sides of a sorority they I could not observe within that public setting, but hopefully I find out more about NPHC Sororities in on my next observation.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Prison Performing Arts: Act V
In class on Friday we listen to one man’s encounter with prisoners that were attempting to perform Act V of the famous Shakespeare play Hamlet.
The author choose a perfect field cite to do his observation of Prison Performing Arts because he actually went to a prison where prisoners where preparing to perform the Hamlet. The prisoners where very cooperative, and didn’t mind him being there. The author was able to talk to many of them about who they played, how they fit their roles, and what they thought about the character they where playing.
The author observation of the subculture gives us a better understanding because of the amount of detail that the author goes into from the opening of the peace that we listened to. The author starts by describing his walk into the prison. He talks about what the prison looks like, and he goes on to describe the different prisoners that he sees. In the room that they prisoners practiced in he noticed a huge black button that always reminded him that he was dealing with dangerous people because the button would set off an alarm that would send many guards with loaded weapons to the room to protect him and the directors. The author also describes the hardships of that the prison actors had to go through that regular actors did not. Among the hardships that the prisoners faced was first to be stripped search before and after every practice, they were put into a hot room for practice, many were uneducated so pronouncing many of the words was a problem, and how much practice time they got with each other. He went on to tell how they had to shout their lines through the bars to each other for extra practice.
The interview techniques that the author used to help understand the subculture was very resourceful. His interviews of the different prisoners in the play help give the reader a inside look on the prisoners perception of the play, and how prisoners expressed how they feel about the characters they are playing. The interviews shows how many of prisoners could easily “get into” the role they played because they felt like they could easily relate to those characters. These interviews help someone like me who does not have access to the prisoners get information that we would not normally get.
The norms and values of this subculture is evident. It shows that the men in the subculture norms are still loosely the same as the other prisoners who are not part of the Performing Arts. They have no special privileges just because they are in the play. These actors however value the play deeply because a few of them use it as a release from their surroundings for that time that they are performing. Others feel like they have changed for the better.
The author choose a perfect field cite to do his observation of Prison Performing Arts because he actually went to a prison where prisoners where preparing to perform the Hamlet. The prisoners where very cooperative, and didn’t mind him being there. The author was able to talk to many of them about who they played, how they fit their roles, and what they thought about the character they where playing.
The author observation of the subculture gives us a better understanding because of the amount of detail that the author goes into from the opening of the peace that we listened to. The author starts by describing his walk into the prison. He talks about what the prison looks like, and he goes on to describe the different prisoners that he sees. In the room that they prisoners practiced in he noticed a huge black button that always reminded him that he was dealing with dangerous people because the button would set off an alarm that would send many guards with loaded weapons to the room to protect him and the directors. The author also describes the hardships of that the prison actors had to go through that regular actors did not. Among the hardships that the prisoners faced was first to be stripped search before and after every practice, they were put into a hot room for practice, many were uneducated so pronouncing many of the words was a problem, and how much practice time they got with each other. He went on to tell how they had to shout their lines through the bars to each other for extra practice.
The interview techniques that the author used to help understand the subculture was very resourceful. His interviews of the different prisoners in the play help give the reader a inside look on the prisoners perception of the play, and how prisoners expressed how they feel about the characters they are playing. The interviews shows how many of prisoners could easily “get into” the role they played because they felt like they could easily relate to those characters. These interviews help someone like me who does not have access to the prisoners get information that we would not normally get.
The norms and values of this subculture is evident. It shows that the men in the subculture norms are still loosely the same as the other prisoners who are not part of the Performing Arts. They have no special privileges just because they are in the play. These actors however value the play deeply because a few of them use it as a release from their surroundings for that time that they are performing. Others feel like they have changed for the better.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Subculture
TOPIC:NPHC SORORITIES
SOURCES:
Jr. Ross, Lawrence C. The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities
and Sororities. Kensington Publish Corp.2000
Morehouse, Macon, Robbins, Alexandra, People, Pledged: The Secret Life Of Sororities.
4/12/2004, Vol. 61, Issue 14. EBSCO host
Family Sues Over Drowning During Alleged Sorority Hazing. Black Issues in Higher
Education, 07420277, 7/17/2003, Vol. 20, Issue 11. EBSCO host
Valen, Kelly. “My Sorority Pledge? I Swore Off Sisterhood”J, New York Times
12/2/2007, Vol. 157 Issue 54146, Special section p6-6, 2/3p EBSCO host
“Sorority Life” New York Times. 3/17/2007, p14, 0p EBSCO Host.
REFLECTION:
In my search upon valid sources for my topic I ran across a source that would be useful subtopic within my paper. The source is a book that has information on the Divine Nine also known as the National Pan-hellic Council which contains the 9 African American Greek Letter organizations. My topic is sororities, and the book that I have will very useful for my paper. This book will reveal why each sorority was founded, and the principles upon which they were founded on. I can also utilize the book for the history, facts, prominent members, and other details about the four historically black women sororities.
SOURCES:
Jr. Ross, Lawrence C. The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities
and Sororities. Kensington Publish Corp.2000
Morehouse, Macon, Robbins, Alexandra, People, Pledged: The Secret Life Of Sororities.
4/12/2004, Vol. 61, Issue 14. EBSCO host
Family Sues Over Drowning During Alleged Sorority Hazing. Black Issues in Higher
Education, 07420277, 7/17/2003, Vol. 20, Issue 11. EBSCO host
Valen, Kelly. “My Sorority Pledge? I Swore Off Sisterhood”J, New York Times
12/2/2007, Vol. 157 Issue 54146, Special section p6-6, 2/3p EBSCO host
“Sorority Life” New York Times. 3/17/2007, p14, 0p EBSCO Host.
REFLECTION:
In my search upon valid sources for my topic I ran across a source that would be useful subtopic within my paper. The source is a book that has information on the Divine Nine also known as the National Pan-hellic Council which contains the 9 African American Greek Letter organizations. My topic is sororities, and the book that I have will very useful for my paper. This book will reveal why each sorority was founded, and the principles upon which they were founded on. I can also utilize the book for the history, facts, prominent members, and other details about the four historically black women sororities.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)