October 10th & 15th: Initiation Extravaganza!

  I. Jubilation, II. Mortification, III. Purgation, IV. Invigoration

"Twenty years from now, when someone asks you— 'How did you lose your pinkie?' 
You will say, 'Lit 285.'"

"What have we lost? What have we gained?

"What perhaps you have been noticing is that this class is an elaborate initiation ceremony."


INITIATIONS:
— Momote - Shiki, (archery ceremony)
—Menawta teeth-sharpening
—Krypteia (the hunting and killing of slaves by boys)
—Nacirema
—Mandan (Okipa)
—Festa de Mocas Nuevas (isolation in a hut to all but family)
—Heaven's Gate
—Boot camp
—Turning 21
—Scarification
—Wild horse races (Hippolytus)
—Getting a doctorate in physics
—Mardudjara ('Subcision', and the mutilation of the penis)
—Bullet-ant glove ("If you live your life without pain, it's not worth living.")
—Fulahi tatros (Facial tattoos, for the women)
—Whip match (Struggle against flinching, for men)
—Vision quests
—Wicca
—Walkabout ('Song lines')
—Camar cow-jumping
—Mafia
—Female circumcision 
- Aztec (The sacrificing of prisoners)
- Motorcycle club
- Sambia (Bloodletting and 'Tingu', or purification. Removal of all feminity)
- Tapas
- Matausa (bloodletting)
- Igonguin/Alonguin
- South Korean shamanism (dancing on a sword)
- Crossing-the-line (Sailor initiation)
- Land-diving (Naghol)
- Pederasty
- Iria Ceremony
- Sweet 16