My interest in fraternities really came from a desire to understand how certain forms of masculinity—especially the ones with negative consequences for women, people of color, and queers—evolved over time. In order to figure out why and how such masculinities developed, I had to pick one group of men and study their history. The result, which started as my doctoral dissertation, became my first book, The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities. In the book I trace the history of white fraternities from their founding in all-male colleges in the antebellum era through the late twentieth century, when they came in for much censure across the nation for hazing, binge-drinking, and sexual assault.
I’ve also written essays on the subject for two edited collections: Rethinking Campus Life: New Perspectives on the History of College Students in the United States (ed. Christine A. Ogren and Mark A. VanOverbeke) and Amherst in the World (ed. Martha Saxton).
I have done interviews for radio, newspapers, and magazines about the research. You can read some of them here: