A student's graduation ceremony involves a formal procession separating from the crowd, a commencement where participants are 'in between' statuses, and a diploma ceremony reintegrating them as alumni. Which phase of van Gennep's schema does each stage correspond to?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: The formal procession (or the period just before receiving the diploma) is separation; the commencement ceremony itself, where participants are neither students nor graduates, is liminality; receiving the diploma and being welcomed as alumni is reincorporation.
This example shows how van Gennep's schema applies even to secular contemporary rituals. The structure is widespread because the underlying social problem — managed transformation of identity — is universal.
Question 2 Short Answer
Why does Turner argue that liminality tends to produce 'communitas' — a sense of equality and intense solidarity among initiates?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Because in the liminal phase, normal social distinctions (rank, wealth, family status) are stripped away. Initiates share the same ambiguous, marginal position, which creates a bond based on common experience rather than hierarchical differentiation.
Turner contrasted communitas with 'structure' (ordinary social hierarchy). He argued that liminal experiences are powerful precisely because they temporarily dissolve structure and allow people to experience social bonds in their most unmediated form.