For project 4 I have decided to examine the first student organization I joined here at Ohio University. Phi Gamma Nu Professional Business Fraternity has been the main focus of my student involvement for the past year and a half and I consider myself to be a highly involved member. For the purpose of this essay I plan on focusing mostly on Wenger’s article concerning modes of belonging, participation, and identity.
Wenger suggests that in order to make sense of identity formation, we must consider three distinct modes of belonging: engagement, imagination, and alignment. Although all three of these are distinct modes of belonging, one mode of belonging may affect another. Engagement is active involvement in mutual processes within the organization, or being included in what matters. In Phi Gamma Nu I consider myself to be highly involved in important interfraternal processes; however, not all members are as involved as I am. Some may only attend mandatory weekly chapter meetings and may not voice their opinion on important negotiations.
Through all three modes of belonging one will begin to identify themselves within a discourse community. Identification is the process through which modes of belonging become constitutive of our identities by creating bonds or distinctions in which we become invested. The Phi Gamma Nu pledging process is how new members become involved. By the end of a pledging quarter, a new member will have been given the tools needed to identify with the group or decide that it is not something they wish to be identified with. For ten weeks pledges go through intense processes which force them to engage, imagine, and align themselves with Phi Gamma Nu.
