Quote:
Originally Posted by Trèves
@MysticCat
Regarding your questions: - The fascinating thing about american-style fraternities is how they connect people. All members are working together on this "project".
- If you join a german "fraternity" it is more like joining a club/group. You dont see the members in everyday uni-life because they stay for themselves.
Have a look at this documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEBI5NK70iU (it is a german documentary but you'll maybe have a little insight through the pictures). Their aim is to maintain the tradition without charitable or educational/social goals. Furthemore they are in very bad standing because they are often associated with national socialism.
- First i have seen fraternities in movies (for example animal house, american pie, social network). After this i began with internet research.
That is a great idea. The greek letters would be more like a marketing aspect to attract people i guess.
PS.: It is hard for me to express myself because I am a miserable english speaker. |
Thanks, Trèves. This is helpful, and I think you're doing very well with English. Trust me—your English is
much better than my miserable German!
Let me ask a follow-up question and make a follow-up comment. First the question: When you say "All members are working together on this 'project,'" what do you mean by "project"? Connecting people?
And second, the comment: As much as I love "Animal House" (and I really do love "Animal House"), I would not take it as a truly accurate representation of what fraternities are about—though in some ways, it actually does come closer than many other movies do. You might want to check out some other sources to get a more well-rounded picture of what fraternities are about and what makes them different from other clubs and societies. As a generalization—perhaps a significant over-generalization—I'd say that traditionally the things that have set fraternities apart from other clubs include:
- An emphasis on brotherhood (hence the name "fraternity");
- An emphasis on specific values and principles that are intended to be guides for members' interations with each other, interactions with society, education and/or life in general;
- A coherent system of rituals, particularly initiation rituals, and symbols (usually including the Greek letters themselves), the content and meaning of which is usually known only by members, that express and reinforce the values and principles central to the fraternity;
- An emphasis on providing for some kind of common life—social life, mutual support, service to others, and/or room and board—to members;
- Exclusive membership, meaning membership by invitation only, and usually (though not always) single-sex membership; and
- At least for national or international fraternities, connections with students at other universities and with alumni after university.
Frankly, I think it would be really interesting to see what a group that combines some of these traits with the traditions of European student societies might look like.
