Blog 8: Conversation

The social structure of college poses many questions such as "How does college produce a sense of self-satisfaction," "How does the college atmosphere create a pseudo-environment in which people can find their 'real' self," and "How does college function as a liminal period in which students are more focused on a quest for identity, rather than perfecting and learning skills that will be applied in the work force." This suggests that a defining reason in college selection and choices reflects a self-fulfilling prophecy. Arnold van Gennep discusses stages and social structure in his book "The Rites of Passage." Although he focuses on religious rites of passage he points out that "So great is the incompatibility between the profane and the sacred worlds that a man cannot pass from one to the other without going through an intermediate stage" (Gennep 1). He also states that "as we move from higher to lower levels of civilization, the differences among these grouped become accentuated and their autonomy increases." When applied to young adulthood, the intermediate stage between being a child and adult is occupied by the time in college. Because attending and completing four years of college is a self-fulfilling rite of passage. It is liminal because at this timeframe, the college student is perplexed between two stages of life. Students have four years to use as a blank slate to define who they are. This changing of worlds can be brought into converstaion with Michael Moffatt because he stresses the different "zones of autonomy" of the college student. He also stresses the importance of authority that is weighed over a college student. Furthermore, while assessing a psychological view, Education is an atmosphere full of potential. However, Frank G. Goble points out that one is not fully aware of their strenghts and talents. He is building this concept off of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. This can be applied to college and brought back into conversation with Moffatt and Gennep because college is a rite of passage, and the needs of attending college are for fulfilling the self prophecies.

Blog 7: 2 Annotations

Moffatt, Michael. “Coming of Age in New Jersey.” Rutgers University Press. 1989

Anthropologist Michael Moffat lives on a dorm floor and observes and documents the attitudes and lifestyles of college students. He particularly focuses on the culture of college and the purpose of higher education. During the “Orientation” (Page 6), Michael Moffatt even points out that the purpose of college is mass producing and supporting social networking and that most of the college experience is spent working on social skills. This book provides an insightful look of how Rutgers college students create a sense of a community. He also discusses the autonomy of college and defines it as “experiencing experiencing college one's own way, independent of the influence and intentions of adults" (Moffatt, 34).

Gennep, Arnold von. The Rites of Passage.

Arnold Von Gennep argues that “The life of an individual in any society is a series of passages from one age to another and from one occupation to another” (Gennep, 3). College is a distinctive experience on one’s quest for identity. Gennep argues that these stages in our life define who we are within the society and we are all components of the society.

Blog 6

Potential Question:
How does the liminal college experience shape the person in finding the unachievable balance of academics and a social life?
How does college provide a sense of self-satisfaction?
How does college help people find satisfaction among society and personal desires?
How does the college atmosphere create a psedo-environment in which people can find thier "real" self?

Blog 5

Five Scholarly Sources:

Anderson, Pauline; Williams, Jenny. Identity and difference in higher education: "outsiders within". Ashgate, Aldershot, Hampshire, England; Burlington, VT. 2001, 197.

Bruffee, Kenneth A. Collaborative learning: Higher Education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 1993.

Haywood, Bruce. The Essential College. XOXOX Press, Gambier, OH. 2006

Rodriguez, Sandria. Giants among us: first-generation college graduates who lead activist lives. Vanderbilt University Press, Tenn. 2001

Stivers, Richard. The illusion of Freedom and Equality. State University of New York Press, Albany. 2008

Rutgers RIOT (Blog 4)

The Rutgers RIOT seemed to be a helpful tool for finding data. Although some of the information seemed a little trivial, the website was still helpful in areas where students are still confused. It clarified all of the information that was thrown at us during the library session. I choose the 'selecting key words' module and it taught me that changing words slightly effects the amount and relevance of the articles that are found. I also practiced evaluating sources which taught me to be careful of the date and author of the articles. It also emphasized the importance of using "and" instead of "or". As a teaching device, the program is beneficial. The animation contributed to the program by making it more interesting. It should be publicized so more people know about all of the resources that the libraries provide for the students.

Librarian Questions (Blog 3)

1. What is the latest editions of magazines/newspaper that the library has?
2. How many people go to the library each day? Do you ever think they go there for a "social" aspect? How many people check books out each day?
3. What is the maximum number of books one can check out?

Blog 2

I really do like the idea of "liminal" college experience. I want my paper to focus on the social aspects of college and how college education plays a role in society. Also I want to focus on why college students do such bizzarre and unusual things. The standards of the college community and much different than the "real world" community. Students often change personalities and attitudes in the different contrasting environments. This includes at home, at the lecture halls and libraries and in the dorm. For example, why do people feel like college is the appropriate time to "experiment."
Here are a couple of pieces I found interesting:

http://http://www.theticker.org/about/2.8219/vermont-considers-lowering-the-drinking-age-1.2140236
In this article they consider lowering the drinking age and that Cornell University offers medical attention due to alcohol related instances without penalty.
http://http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/westview/positive-friends-can-lead-to-a-longer-life-83786577.html
I really liked this article because it encourages a positive friendly environment. This can be applied to colleges and Moffatt because he stresses that the deans want a friendly community.