
Bound by a Mighty Vow
Sisterhood and Women's Fraternities, 1870-1920
Diana B. Turk(Author)
New York University Press
Published on 21. June 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
251 pages
978-0-8147-8282-8 (ISBN)
Description
A look at the intricate history of collegiate women's support networks-otherwise known as sororities
Sororities are often thought of as exclusive clubs for socially inclined college students, but Bound by a Mighty Vow, a history of the women's Greek system, demonstrates that these organizations have always served more serious purposes. Diana Turk explores the founding and development of the earliest sororities (then called women's fraternities) and explains how these groups served as support networks to help the first female collegians succeed in the hostile world of nineteenth century higher education.
Turk goes on to look at how and in what ways sororities changed over time. While the first generation focused primarily on schoolwork, later Greek sisters used their fraternity connections to ensure social status, gain access to jobs and job training, and secure financial and emotional support as they negotiated life in turn-of-the-century America. The costs they paid were conformity to certain tightly prescribed beliefs of how "ideal" fraternity women should act and what "ideal" fraternity women should do.
Drawing on primary source documents written and preserved by the fraternity women themselves, as well as on oral history interviews conducted with fraternity officers and alumnae members, Bound by a Mighty Vow uncovers the intricate history of these early women's networks and makes a bold statement about the ties that have bound millions of American women to one another in the name of sisterhood.
Sororities are often thought of as exclusive clubs for socially inclined college students, but Bound by a Mighty Vow, a history of the women's Greek system, demonstrates that these organizations have always served more serious purposes. Diana Turk explores the founding and development of the earliest sororities (then called women's fraternities) and explains how these groups served as support networks to help the first female collegians succeed in the hostile world of nineteenth century higher education.
Turk goes on to look at how and in what ways sororities changed over time. While the first generation focused primarily on schoolwork, later Greek sisters used their fraternity connections to ensure social status, gain access to jobs and job training, and secure financial and emotional support as they negotiated life in turn-of-the-century America. The costs they paid were conformity to certain tightly prescribed beliefs of how "ideal" fraternity women should act and what "ideal" fraternity women should do.
Drawing on primary source documents written and preserved by the fraternity women themselves, as well as on oral history interviews conducted with fraternity officers and alumnae members, Bound by a Mighty Vow uncovers the intricate history of these early women's networks and makes a bold statement about the ties that have bound millions of American women to one another in the name of sisterhood.
Reviews / Votes
"Turk illuminates a previously neglected, marginal(ized) subject in her balanced assessment, showing how women's Greek letter fraternities reflected larger social currents: gracefully written and handsomely presented." (Choice) "Turk presents a mostly balanced treatment of women's fraternities. She fills in gaps left behind by previous scholars." (American Historical Review) "Turk paints an eloquent picture of how the bonds of sisterhood sustained these women and their fellow pioneers . . . Turk is to be commended for illuminating a neglected but relevant chapter in the history of women's education." (Library Journal)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 230 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
349 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8147-8282-8 (9780814782828)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2004
New York University Press
€29.49
Available for download
Person
Diana B. Turk is an assistant professor at the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University.
Content
ContentsPreface Acknowledgments Introduction: Fraternities' Past and Historians' Present1 Of Serious Mind and Purpose: The First Generation of Fraternity Women 2 The Most Socially Eligible: "At Home" with the Second Generation of Fraternity Women 3 A National Society to Rank with the First in America: Expansion and Exclusion in the Women's Greek System4 In Search of Unity: Fostering "High Ideals" in the Face of Antifraternity Sentiment, 1910-1920 5 Once a Sister, Always a Sister: Fraternity Membership in the Postcollege Years 6 Bound by a Mighty Vow: The Costs and Bene?ts of Fraternity Membership, 1870-1920 Notes Bibliography Index About the Author