College Life: Traditions, Rituals and Ceremony

In this course we will use theory to examine common events and activities at college, such as football games, singing the alma mater, and Middlebury-specific examples such as passing Gamaliel Painter’s cane at opening convocation and the Feb celebration ski-down,. We will read, discuss, and apply the work of major theorists (e.g., V. Turner, S. Tambiah, Durkheim, Weber, and others) to contemporary rituals, traditions, and ceremonies that are defining parts of college life. Discussion and assignments are designed to help gain a deeper understanding of the changing roles that tradition plays for us, and to raise awareness of behaviors that go under-examined in our perennial, communal life.