Literature Review #3

1) Elizabeth A. Armstrong and Laura T. Hamilton

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      2) Armstrong, Elizabeth and Laura Hamilton.  Paying for the Party: How College Maintains Inequality.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2013. Print.

3) The chapter from this book that I will be using for my research paper is chapter 4 “The Floor”. In this chapter, the authors Armstrong and Hamilton discuss the risks of becoming a social isolate in college, especially during freshman year. Armstrong and Hamilton focus on the social aspect of the college experience and how having a bad and/or a lack of social experience can negatively affect individuals not only while in school but also in their future lives as well.  Although they are speaking about college students who dorm on campus, it is quite reasonable that these effects and consequences also extend to commuter students who fall into the category of being social isolates as well.

4) One of the authors of this book is Elizabeth A. Armstrong. She is a sociologist with research interests in the areas of gender, sexuality, culture, organizations, social movements and higher education. I would say that her areas of research in social movements and higher education tie in directly with “Paying for the Party”. Armstrong has been a writer of many articles and has also been consulted with in an array of different research studies of other scholars. Likewise, Laura T. Hamilton has a similar background. She is a sociologist who is also interested in researching gender, sexuality, family, education, social class, and mixed research methods. Hamilton has a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in sociology. These two women’s book “Paying for the Party” has been awarded the 2015 Sociological Association Distinguished Book Award, alongside many other awards.

5) One key term that Armstrong and Hamilton emphasize on in this chapter is “social isolate”. In general terms, a social isolate can be defined as someone who completely, or near-completely, lacks contact with other people. Social isolates tend to distance themselves from others due to the perception or feeling that they do not fit in or belong. This is very important and ties in with my research paper because commuter students are at a high risk to become social isolates due to the fact that they are already, in a sense, separated from their classmates who live on campus. And this separation sometimes increases with time. Armstrong and Hamilton go on to discuss the various negative impacts of social isolation and how this affects academics, mental health, and personal development.

6) “Isolates shut down as most came to realize that openness to friendship would be read as desperation” (105).

“64% of social isolates were [five years later, either at risk of a filed mobility project or downward mobility], and the number would be even higher if leaving the university had not turned out to be a positive for many less privileged women” (109).

“These numbers suggest a link between social integration in college and later stratification processes, a finding that is supported by higher education research” (109).

“Given the barriers to forming new ties in college, many isolates relied more heavily on high school friends, family, or friends from work. This pulled them further away from their peers and made it less likely that their paths would cross. Over time it grew even more unlikely that these women would from friendships on campus” (109-110).

“The initiative and clarity that lead to decisive action often derive from social networks through which ideas and encouragement flow” (110).

“Lacking interactions with other MU students, Natasha and Morgan remained inert, adopting the lowest effort path in every aspect of their lives. They never engaged in any sort of college activity not required by their class. While others had undergone considerable transformation in college, these two seemed not to have changed” (110-111).

“As Steven Brint and Allsion Cantwell argue in “Portrait of the Disengaged”, most college students require interaction with fellow students (as well as professors) in order to absorb and engage with classroom material. When social networks are not in place to facilitate interactions, academic commitment and performance often weaken” (112).

“Social ties are one of the best predictors of good mental health. It is thus not surprising that those without them would be at risk for depression and other issues, such as alcohol and drug abuse” (112).

“We found this was particularly true of isolates who, at one point or another, tried desperately to fit into the social scene at MU. Rather than seeing the structure of social life at MU as the problem, they tended to put the burden on themselves to make the situation work – and take the blame when they failed” (112).

“Social networks are one of the most critical conduits for information. Students without many friends are less likely to learn about an exciting major, a critical deadline, fraternities to avoid, good places to park, or opportunities for internships” (113).

“If students generalize from the experience of not fitting in at a given school, they may decide college in general is not for them” (115).

7) This source greatly helps me explore my research question because I can directly connect the ideas of the authors to what I am investigating. There is much valuable information in chapter 4 of Armstrong and Hamilton’s book. The chapter is very insightful in laying out the immediate and long term negative effects of being a social isolate, a condition many commuter students are at a higher risk to face.