Rituals, Ceremonies, and Cultural Meaning in Higher Education
Manning's primary aim in this book is to invite readers to view higher education through a cultural lens by blending cornerstones of anthropology (including rituals, rites of passage, secular ceremonies, cultural performances and traditions) with higher education theory. In this fifteen-chapter book, Manning first makes the case that an anthropological perspective is relevant, then clarifies the purpose of the book-"to explore campus culture as revealed through rituals and ceremonies" (p. 3). Types of rituals and significant themes in college ritual (e.g., power, criticism) are also discussed. Manning intermixes seven higher education case studies (i.e., Presidential Inauguration, Charter Day, Convocation, Baccalaureate, Junior Show, a campus birthday celebration for its founder, and an Alumnae parade) with theory-oriented chapters (e.g., structuralism, anthropology of experience). The final chapter focuses on the research methodology she employed during her fieldwork, which is rooted in constructivism. In short, the book blends higher education with anthropological scholarship, empirical fieldwork with cultural analysis, elementary theoretical overviews that target novice readers with more in-depth discussions that favor connoisseurs, and historical overviews of higher education with practical discussions of how this anthropological lens might improve campus life in the future. This book has notable strengths. Foremost, it recognizes and fills a void in higher education scholarship. Historically, higher education scholars' research agendas have favored three academic disciplines: psychology (e.g., human development), sociology (e.g., organization development), and history. As Manning notes, until a few decades ago, anthropologists were reluctant to study American culture in general and higher education in particular. An erroneous perception that rituals were unimportant exacerbated this narrow disciplinary focus. Jacquetta Hill Burnett (1976) noted: