Webbing (with Rites)

Frustration…not setting in YET. I am finding print sources for my research, but online/digital are harder to come by.

As Lamb (2011) said in the class section of Webbing, my primary question has a web of information surrounding it. The kind of information I need is recent in nature, because I want current opinions and discussions on modern rites. I have been searching for this information in a variety of formats.

Simply browsing through the Allen County Public Library’s OPAC displayed a good number of books, when searching with the term “rites of passage.” I have also found a few online communities/websites/special interest groups that have discussed my topic. The Art of Manliness website had at least one awesome article < http://artofmanliness.com/2010/02/21/male-rites-of-passage-from-around-the-world/>. Podcasts have been a double-edged sword. They can be rich in content, but you have to listen to the entire broadcast to see if there is usable information. The New Man Podcast has given a few gems, such as the Threshold Passages organization < http://www.thenewmanpodcast.com/2008/03/tnm-015-have-you-lost-your-teenage-fire/>. Inquiry is time consuming. I can see now why planning ahead on where to find information is such a critical part.

General searching through online databases like EBSCO and WilsonWeb has not proven as fruitful as I expected. Which database collection of journals to select and then search through is difficult to determine. Either this topic has not been the subject of many magazine articles, or I am not looking in the right places.

I also sent a few emails to sociology profs at IUPUI and at my undergrad college. Still waiting on responses. I hope they can shed light on new avenues to pursue.

I found I may have to extend my focus. While I want to talk about modern rites in the West, I ALSO need to cover present rites in other parts of the world, to compare and contrast.

Key Ideas:

Words: separation, maturing, group, growing up, life lessons

People: boy, teacher, elder, squire, knight, journeyman

Places: outdoors, school, training area, campgrounds,

Chronology: adolescence, early adulthood, formative years

Ideas: feminism conflict, loss of father figures, extended adolescence, passed down knowledge

What WOULD be an excellent source is to find someone who designed or went through a formalized rite. That would be an excellent primary source.

Sources…I realize I may have been mixing up primary and secondary sources on this project. Several reference books I have used, such as Life Events and Rites of Passage, by Jeff Hill and Peggy Daniels, would be considered a textbook or encyclopedia. Ok, I need to think about what a good primary source would be. An interview or speech. A diary. Official records of an event. I have to remember that a secondary source interprets or reviews previous findings.

So, primary sources I have found so far would be the podcasts, and a few of the books. The articles I have found…I would have to place as secondary. I need to remember what information sources have the most valid information. As I think about this…in my previous inquiry journeys throughout the years, I would simply group all of the sources together. Never truly ranked them on which held more ‘authority’ and which did not.

Lamb, A. (2011). Webbing. 8W’s, accessed online on Sept 15, 2011 at http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/webbing.htm