Men, Mansions, and Money: Inside the Gendered and Bounded Culture and Legacy of Princeton University's Eating Clubs

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  • February 26, 2019
Creator
  • Goudreault, Corinne
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Anthropology
Abstract
  • Princeton University is unique in many ways, not the least of which is its eating club system. As an outlet for meals, studying, socializing and events for their Junior and Senior members and ubiquitous social life for all years of students, these clubs play many roles and affect many aspects of students’ lives. In this project, I look through the broad lenses of gender and exclusionary spaces to explore students’ experiences in the clubs. I combine my own involvement in participant-observation field research with personal interviews and a general survey to collect rich qualitative data about individuals as well as quantitative information. My scope is small with the intention of providing a deep look into this world rather than providing broad statistical data. The clubs provide an experience that despite its singularity reveals potential insights about the changing landscape of gender, institutionalization, stratification, and social interactions in contemporary America. After describing the purpose and history of the clubs, I spend a large portion of this thesis describing in detail the actual happenings of the clubs, from day to day activities to exceptional formal events. This rich description is then followed by a broader discussion of the role of gender, exclusionary policies, and formal spatial controls. My findings revolve around the prevailing attitudes of the Princeton undergraduate population about these clubs as revealed in and by individual experiences and discussions.
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  • In Copyright
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  • Funding: Rodney F. Hood Undergraduate Research Fund
Advisor
  • Lambert, Valerie
Degree
  • Bachelor of Arts
Honors level
  • Honors
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Extent
  • 126

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