Fraternities are an obvious example of what Haythornthwaite would call a Gemeinshaft community. A Gemeinshaft community is one that is based on strong interpersonal ties, a shared focus, common language, and identity. If you are familiar with Greek communities, you know that these values are at the foundation of most brotherhoods. When one pledges a fraternity, they are charged with getting to know the brothers of the house very well. According to Gemeinschaft, brothers are “actors” and ties form between these actors. We have form edvery strong ties among ourselves. And even those brothers who live out of the house, and don’t have frequent enough contact for strong ties, maintain a sense of identity with the house. These brothers are good examples of weak ties, because they are always there, willing to help you out, but might not be around all the time. Its an amazing thing to be a part of, because when you want to get things done, whether within the house, or a larger philanthropy project involving Cornell or the Ithaca community, brothers are always ready and wiling to work together. Haythornthwaite says this, “[members] take up roles of community maintenance, spending their energy responding to others in the community, giving help without requiring an immediate pay back or even any payback” (129.) Now while no pay back is expected, reciprocity is the norm. I have no problems driving my friends up the hill, and enjoy the instances when my friends can afford me the same luxury. Because these favors run both ways, they have become social norms, and further develop ties.
The other element that separates fraternities from other kinds of communities is it’s self-selective nature. My fraternity is incredibly diverse, including brothers from all over the country, all seven schools at Cornell, and a multitude of majors alike. Despite all this diversity, we share much common ground. This common ground extends beyond just our interests, hobbies, and lifestyles, but is extended by the many traditions of the brotherhood.
SNA (Social Network Analysis) is a viewpoint that redefines the term community. Traditionally speaking, communities needed a common location to exist in. As CMC becomes more prevalent in people’s every day lives, its important to update this definition. CMC can help communities stay together, over great physical distances. Staying in touch with these brothers is facilitated by our fraternity listserv. This asynchronous email environment is a convenient way for any brother to reach out to his entire brotherhood network. This combination of FtF and CMC creates a synergy that strengthens the community, according to SNA.
So, to conclude:
My fraternity uses a combination of CMC and FtF interactions that enable us to meet, plan, and organize across distances, and bring us together in the real world to keep our ties, bonds, and brotherhood strong. We wear our letters proudly, reflection our strong sense of identity. We share inside jokes, exemplifying our language. And, we help each other whenever possible, and reciprocity is the norm. The combination of these factors explain why fraternities are perfect examples of Gemeinschaft communities, as explained by Haythornthwaite.
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6 comments:
I really enjoyed reading your blog. You make great points through Haythornwaite's theories which make perfect sense. I feel the same way about the lacrosse team here, and so even though I am not in a sorority (the equivalent to your frat), I get this feeling of community through the team. Your frat and my team also have and show common ground. You and I would not be part of these groups if we did not show common characteristics, goals, thoughts or ideas.
As a member of a sorority here at Cornell, I definitely understand where you are coming from with this post and agree strongly. What I agreed with most was the reciprocity you mentioned. We give rides, share clothing, help with work, lend support and more on a daily basis. Reciprocity is not a rare occurrence – it is the expected norm. It’s almost if the Leviathan (the house President? IFC/Panhel?) has invaded the Greek system now, too! We behave this way toward one another because that’s what Greek life is all about: friendship and cooperation.
My only potential argument is the self-selectiveness of the process. Though we do, as rushes, pick our favorite house to hopefully join, the road goes both ways. We have to be picked by the house itself as well! This leads me to wonder – what is it we all see in the particular houses we choose? What is it that these houses sees in us? And finally, how do these attributes overlap across pledge classes, entire houses, and the Greek system in general?
Also being a member of a sorority here, I agree with most of the points you have made. I think that throughout the process of entering a sorority or fraternity, we develop these strong or weak ties. Granted, we know everyone in the house and acknowledge their presence, but I know for me personally, I have developed a group of "stronger" friends with whom I share most interests and my time with. However, these weaker ties create opportunities for networking, which I wish you had written a little more on. The strength of these weak ties, like having such a large group of people in a fraternity or sorority, creates many opportunities for social networking because even though we may not be best friends with everyone in our house, there is a special connection from brother to brother. This also relates to brothers that are alumni. I have heard many stories of people getting jobs from alumni that were in their fraternity or sorority many years ago. These are clearly weak ties since we may not know these people, but because of this social network conneciton, there is an automatic "relationship" to be had.
Here are the comments I left:
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/10/72-web-personality-sleuth.html
http://comm245blue.blogspot.com/2007/10/7-2-camp-network.html
and
Jamie,
I forgot to mention an example of the "strength" of weak ties. When running for positions on campus, being a part of a diverse fraternity/sorority is invaluable. By having the support of your brotherhood, you can get the support of each your brothers' spheres of influence, even if you don't know the brother or his friends especially well. It really shows how weak ties can have tremendous benefits.
Hey Steven,
Being in a fraternity myself, I can definitely identify with most of the points you made in your post. Reciprocity is an important element in a fraternal community. Most brothers are willing to help out other brothers without question, just as one would be expected to do so if called upon themselves. Common ground also has a great effect, with brothers sharing many of the same beliefs and attitudes. I can also identify with the synergies that exist between the face-to-face and CMC interactions that help a brotherhood run smoothly.
One aspect I would argue, however, is that brothers who live outside the house are weak ties. Even though they are not around all the time, they still are in the same social circles as in-house brothers and interaction with them is relatively frequent. I believe they would be considered strong ties. Besides this one aspect, I agree with everything you said. It was very interesting to read another fraternity brother’s take on the issue.
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