ABSTRACT JOHNSON, SHANNON LEE. Sisters
ABSTRACT JOHNSON, SHANNON LEE. Sisters of Diversity: A Case Study on the Roles of a Multicultural Sorority. (Under the direction of Dr. Susan J. Bracken.) Little to no literature has been published on multicultural Greek letter organizations, yet they appear to be among the fastest growing phenomena in Greek life. Concerned about the future of human relations and desiring to explore opportunities for respectful interactions among diverse individuals, the author chose to narrow her research to the college campus environment and, more specifically, to a group of women. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to understand how members of one self-identified multicultural sorority at a Southeastern research university define and address intercultural issues on their college campus. The author selected the multicultural feminist perspective and the intercultural theory of student development as the theoretical framework. Primarily based upon interviews with 10 current and alumnae members of the sorority, the findings explore one overarching research question: what describes the nature of the roles of a multicultural sorority on a college campus? Three areas were explored – identity, structure, and activities – to support this overarching research question. Five key statements of findings emerged from the data. Within the thematic area of Identity, the first finding is the lack of sororal intentions by the women who joined Theta Nu Xi and the second finding is their deep feeling of acceptance. The third key finding, situated within the thematic area of Structure, is the idea that this sorority is intentionally multicultural but inherently feminist. Within the thematic area of Activities, the fourth finding describes how the purpose and activities of Theta Nu Xi differ from traditional Greek letter organizations (GLOs), and the fifth finding explores the concept of universal learning rather than unilateral learning.
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