Literature Review #1

Robbins, Alexandra. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Print.

This book is about the story of a researcher who went under cover for a year as she lived with sorority girls.  She reveals loads of things that occurred behind their closed doors and what she learned from the young women.  Although there are many surprising reveals, there are also some interesting discoveries she made regarding sisterhood and the ideals that the women hold themselves up to.  

The author, Alexandra Robbins, is obviously knowledgeable about the topic because this is an account of her own first-hand experience while living in the house.  At the beginning of the book, she does admit that she had her own preconceived notions about sororities, but her perspective is completely changed after experiencing a year living in the house.  

An important key term throughout this book is "socialized".  This is important because it is quite ambiguous and many writers could have a load of different definitions for it.  In Robbins's case, she considers the sorority girls to have been socialized before they joined their chapters which is why they wound up being "picked" from the large pool of girls who entered recruitment.  Robbins then goes on to say that the girls "socialized" within their chapters and have grown to be who they are as college students.  

"Between meetings and activities, fund-raising and date-finding, sorority membership can be as much of a commitment as a part-time job" (Robbins 94).  This quote could be important to support my analysis because it shows that sororities prepare people for real-life careers because of the demand for time-management.  

"But there is, of course, the question of whether the girls create the sorority or the sorority creates the girls" (Robbins 118).  This could be an interesting topic to bring up in my paper because it could indicate independence or a lack thereof.  This independence comes from well-rounded individuals who have a better chance at a steady future. 

"Some sororities still use secret passwords" (Robbins 286).  This is another interesting point to bring up in regards to the topic of exclusivity that comes with joining an organization.  The exclusivity continues after college and into the professional world when sorority sisters or fraternity brothers meet and are perhaps colleagues.  This could benefit someone in finding a job because they share rituals and values that another colleague has.  

This book will be an important part of my research because it exclusively talks about the life of multiple sorority ladies.  Although there are some aspects of Greek life that are mentioned which are irrelevant to my topic, it covers many bases that I would like to mention within my final paper.