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Studdmann is a dormitory located on the campus of Concordia University in down town Austin Texas. It is not a mens dormitory nor is it a coed. Studdmann is an all womens dorm. I focussed on the on the dorms dynamics, examining the interpretation that students give to there interactions with one another (Kendall, 349). There are many different types of interactions that take place in the dormitory.
Interactions between female and female along with female and male students. The Interactionist Theory is clearly seen at the dorm. The setting is an important part of the Interactionist Theory (The sociological approach that views society as the sum of the interactions of individuals and groups (Kendall, 489) ) of observation. It determines how and when to interact with the students.
Studdmann is a two-story dorm located on the south side of the campus. As you enter the dorm you walk down a short hallway. At the end of the hallway is a large lobby. The lobby contains many chairs, couches, and tables arranged in four sections. There are a few coke machines in the lobby also. A TV is located in the back left corner of the lobby.
From there the dorm is divided into wings, an East Side and West Side. The down stairs is split in two by the lobby. Each side contains fourteen rooms. The upstairs is one long hallway containing forty rooms. There are two large restrooms on each side of the upstairs hallway.
The dorm is a community restroom dorm, which means everyone uses the same facilities. The dorm rooms each contain two beds, two-book shelves and two desks. All my observations were taken from actions inside the rooms. The setting is similar to any other dorm Ive been in. However, the occupants are what are different to me.
The differences are obvious. For instance, the occupants are female. They live a completely different life than that of mine. Their behavior and actions is that of complete difference than males. All of the occupants were involved in some sort of activity in a dorm room. I observed six different rooms.
One to six students occupied each room. Mostly female with a few visiting males mixed in. I never got the names of the student I observed afraid that it would alter the outcome of the project. I numbered each room and alphabetized the students. Room One was the first room I observed. It was on the second floor west side of the dorm.
The room was occupied three girls. One of the girls, girl (A) was sitting on the floor while the other two girls (b, c) stood by her. Girl B was on the left and girl C the right. (FN 19) Girl A was talking on the phone and crying. (fn 20) I assumed she was upset. Girl B has her hand on girl As shoulder. Girl C knelt down and gave girl A, a hug, comforting her. This was a characteristic of non-verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication often supplements verbal communication (Kendall, 121). Room two was occupied by one girl (D) sitting on her bed reading a book (fn 9). Her phone rang and she answered it, repeating hello four times before hanging up (fn 10). Thirty seconds later the phone rang again and the same thing happened. (fn 11).
A minute later, the phone rang again girl answered it. This time the girl walked out into the hallway and yelled, stop calling me. (fn 12) Door opens across the hall and girl (E) comes out laughing and says, theyll stop (fn 13). Girl D looks at girl E and shakes her head at girl E giving her a nasty look and the middle finger then walks back into her room. This is another example of a non-verbal communication characteristic. Head and facial movement may provide us with other peoples emotions (Kendall, 121). Ritualistic (different from everyday actions in that they have strictly determined behaviors (Kendall, 352) ) is another characteristic of Interaction.
There are a lot of examples of this behavior in the dorm. Things such as the way students greet each other to the way students study. Greetings by men and women are very different. When two men meet they shake hand.
When women meet they hug, it being with another women or a man. When women meet they show more affection than men do as well. Most men go through a ritualistic state when they meet but never notice it. They go though the motions and follow the rules when they meet each other (Kendall, 148).
The ritualistic is what hand shack do I use. Girl F and G entered room three. As they entered they gave every one in the room a hug. As they walked out of the room they met some more girls and again they all embraced in hugs. The typical ritual women go though when they meet and greet. Another ritualistic form is the way students study.
Six girls occupied room 4. All of the girls were sitting on the floor (fn 7). They were all holding note cards. The atmosphere in the room was that of a serious nature. The girls were asking questions and answering them. Which is the typical method of studying for tests.
I observed another room and witnessed the same activities. All of the girls were showing the same study habits. Which leads me to believe that they all interact in the same way at certain activities. This would mean that all learn the same way.
Ritualism is a very important part of every day life. rituals in daily life may be ordinary, they are vital for us to organize and interpret daily life (Brinkerhoff and Lynn, 168). The habits students have are all rituals of their daily lives but they never notice. Its important for students to know what to expect and do in every day life, to know how to interact with each other. Ritualism's are the way to accomplish these feet's. We know that others have expectations of us.
We also have certain expectations about them (Kendall, 114). Social interaction is showed in a major way in the womens dorm. I noticed that no matter what a girl does she is always trying to look her best. Evan at a little study group all the girls were dressed up trying to out do each other on better looks. Evan as girls went in and out of the restroom they were constantly primping themselves.
As I walked by the restroom a girl walked out dressed in a pink robe hair up in a towel. I looked into the restroom before the door closed. There were three girls standing in front of a mirror fixing their hair or washing their face or putting on make-up. Things you would never see in a men's dorm.
This is very different than that of an all male dorm. Men do care about what they look like but not to the extent women do. Men will take a shower and throw on a pair of shorts and move on. Where girls dress like theyre going to a wedding when they leave the restroom. Why this is I couldnt figure out.
Interactionist Theory is very evident at Studdmann dormitory. Non-verbal communication and ritualistic behavior are the characteristics that are apparent in this theory. You could find evidence of every sociological theory in Studdmann making it a very sociological atmosphere. Sociology is a main part of our daily lives. By observing different groups you can find out more in depth how and why people are placed in-groups. The nigh life of the students that attend Studdmann dorm is one of total difference to me.
Im always part of the action. There is more to it than I could ever imagine. So much you dont realize unless youre looking for it or focus on it. It was a very interesting group to observe but very hard to interpret.
I learned a lot from this project and will have a new out look on grouping and placing people in them.
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