CollEffF07

The Collective Effervescence Projects 2007

Prof. Beau Weston, Centre College

The Introduction to Sociology class at Centre College read Emile Durkheim's The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Durkheim describes how small, face-to-face groups create social solidarity when they have a "collective effervescence," a shared emotional experience.

Students in the class went out to gather first-hand testimony from people who had had a collective effervescence that created solidarity in a group. In these webpages, the students describe the background of the group, the event that created the sense of solidarity, the totems that the group uses to symbolize their experience, and what it means for the members to be part of that group.

Sea Trials at the United States Naval Academy, by Ned Arthur

The Plunge: Outlook On Teen Violence, by Janei Bouyer and Brenda Contreras

Phi Kappa Tau Bid Day, by Alex Brown

Junior-Senior at Madeira, by Olivia Fitzpatrick

Quill and Scroll [high school journalism honorary society], by Ashley Flesher and Caroline Keeler

Clash in the Obsidian Tower [Dungeons and Dragons], by Michael Georgilis

Freshman Orientation, by Griffin Glenn and Jill DeGonda

Welcome to the Jungle [Boston Celtics game], by Jeff Glidden

Starbucks Thursdays [high school friends], by Emily Gregory

Cats vs. Cards [college football], by Laura Beth Griffith

A Time for Celebration [Ramadan feast], by Amna Ijaz

Solidarity in Baltimore [Virgin Festival concert], by Ian Ledgerwood