Course Description

GLS 592: Secret Societies

Instructor: Anne Russell

Gimghoul Castle

What do Yale's Skull & Bones, Ku Klux Klan, Bohemian Club, Prior of Sion, Order of the Arrow, Mafia, UNC Chapel Hill's Order of Gimghoul, SAE fraternity and Chi Omega sorority, Freemasons, Al Queda, Phi Beta Kappa, street gangs, YaYa Sisterhood, and Amos 'n Andy's Mystic Knights of the Sea have in common? Illegal in countries such as Poland but legal and prestigious or notorious in America, such organizations provide bonding rituals which can be immensely powerful, with secret initiation rites and meetings held sub rosa. Explore the history and purpose of these groups which operate behind a veil.

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Last Update: February 10, 2008