Introduction Beer and Circus

The introduction of “Beer and Circus” provides definitions of the four major student subcultures which have long existed in American higher education: the collegiate, the academic, the vocational, and the rebel. In the 1960’s a study done by sociologists Burton Clark and Martin Trow outlined the main characteristics.

The collegiate culture is a world of football, fraternities and sororities, dates, drinking, and campus fun. Many students are involved with this culture.

Academic culture is on every college campus. These students work hard, get the best grades, and obtain as much knowledge and ideas as they can to reach full potential.

Vocational students are married, work 40 to 50 hours a week; college is training for a better job. Hard driven students just want to pass and get their diploma.

The cultures of students who are rebels are nonconformist who mostly exist at liberal arts colleges among many undergraduates. They are deeply involved with ideas in the class room and with current events in society such as art, literature, and politics. Style of the student is aggressive nonconformist. If they don’t agree with the professors curriculum then they find it irrelevant, will not do the work and fail. If they find the class interesting and want to learn the subject then they will surpass expectations and receive a grade of an A.

The introduction gives a quick outline of how students are categorized in the culture of college. It doesn’t really give a glimpse of what the rest of the book will be about but more about the student. Maybe the author giving detail about the student will result in the actions of all the activities that happen on campus, such as the football and basketball games. Each culture is apart of the university and can change things, either good or bad, or nothing at all.