Document Type
Honors Project
First Advisor
Dr. Harriet Hayes
Degree Award Date
Spring 2009
Keywords
Hooking Up, College Social Scene, Men, Friendship, Identity, Real College Experience, in-depth interviews, paradoxical ideology
Disciplines
Social Psychology and Interaction | Sociology
Abstract
This research examines the ways in which men develop identities and ideologies during their time at college. What has been termed, "the real college experience," has become an important .vehicle for college males in developing friendships, creating social networks, emerging identities, and taking advantage of freedom. And at the same time is a form of consumption. The findings are based on ten in-depth interviews that were conducted on traditionally aged college males from James Madison University in Virginia. It is apparent that male college students' desire to live the "real college experience" plays a very important role in helping them decipher their own actions as well as others actions, while providing them with a sense of identity and freedom. However, this research found that college males are actually experiencing "unfreedom" because the "real college experience" has been prefabricated by outside forces- in a sense they are caught in a paradoxical ideology that gives the illusion of choice and freedom.
Recommended Citation
Ryan, March A., "Hooking Up and the College Social Scene: How Men Navigate Friendship, Identity, and the "Real College Experience"" (2009). Honors Projects. 148.
https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/honors_projects/148