Writingand Retreating:
Our Perspective on the AFA Oracle Writers Retreat 2019 BRIAN JOYCE
We
started the second annual AFA writers’ retreat in the dark and spooky foyer of a large, historic home in an unfamiliar space. The room was lit only by candlelight. We remained silent, standing in a semi-circle until someone in all white came to the front of the room to greet us. We weren’t taking part in a fraternal ritual ceremony, but rather starting our retreat time on a ghost tour through Colonial Williamsburg, widely known as one of America’s most haunted places. Whether or not you believe in the hauntings and mysteries of eyewitness accounts throughout the historic homes of the Colonial era, we walked away from the tour with a shared experience and one of the cornerstones of quality writing: the art of storytelling. When we think about our stories from the retreat, the most impactful narrative from our time at William & Mary is one of community. The connections between researchers were purposeful. Dr. Jim Barber, associate professor of higher education at William & Mary, editor of Oracle, and one of the primary retreat organizers designed this networking time with intentionality. “I think the two most productive aspects of the retreat are (1) the time reserved for writing and (2) the community of researchers that come together for the retreat,” Barber said. “It is such a great opportunity to have so many colleagues who are interested in fraternity and sorority research come together in the same place. The conversations that happen at the retreat not only affirm the work that we’re doing, but generate new ideas for research, partnerships, and writing projects.” The new ideas generated during the retreat are as much a part of our story as the writing. Among the vast resources in the Earl Gregg Swem Library on the historic campus of W&M, several researchers in attendance chatted about ways to combine their interests in whiteness and masculinity into a future collaboration. Over a cup of coffee from nearby Aromas coffeehouse, they conceptualized the framework for important and 23 PERSPECTIVES Issue #4
critical issues in the field, and following the retreat, have discussed co-authoring a piece going more in-depth on how these issues affect student leaders. The small cohort and idea generation aspect of the retreat allowed for critical moments of reflection for scholars. Dr. Pietro Sasso, assistant professor of college student personnel and program director at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, stated, “this opportunity helped me reflect on my future contributions to the profession of fraternity and sorority advising as a researcher who supports our undergraduate student leaders.” Ideas about the profession and the future of research in the field were plentiful. After an afternoon of guided brainstorming, the group generated a varied list of topics thought to be critical areas of exploration for future research. The group brainstormed everything from membership development in online spaces to an economic impact study of the fraternity and sorority community on both a campus and its surrounding community. Jason Bergeron, director of the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life at the University of Houston, commented this aspect of the retreat was perhaps the most meaningful. Bergeron said, “the idea generation with other attendees I think will have the most long-term impact as it helps to create multi-disciplinary teams of people who can brainstorm potential studies.” Of course, there was also plenty of writing. Bergeron pointed out he primarily “spent time working on completing my candidacy paper, which was the most immediate project in front of me.” Sasso indicated he “was able to work on my own scholarship to complete my two volumes on the forthcoming fraternity/sorority texts, as well as begin conceptualizing an article on sense of belonging among fraternity members.” The setting is an important piece of any story. When talking about the importance of the retreat, Barber reiterated the significance of the space. “The retreat offers
