Fraternity/Sorority History

Theta is part of the long history of fraternities and sororities in North America.

Phi Beta Kappa, established in 1776 at the College of William & Mary, was the first Greek-letter group for college students in the United States. In its early days, it was more a social fraternity rather than the honorary group it is today. The Kappa Alpha Society, established in 1825, was the first solely social fraternity. While a few colleges opened their doors to female students and several groups were established prior to the Civil War (The Adelphean Society, 1851), it was not until the post-Civil War period of the 1870s that many colleges welcomed female students. These young women sought to establish support networks on their campuses via the social fraternity, particularly important as female students were greatly outnumbered by male students.

Resources

While there is no comprehensive history for fraternities and sororities, several works look at specific aspects of their history. Many individual groups have published a history of their organization. For general overviews, you may want to look at:

• Freeman, Margaret L. 2020. Women of discriminating taste: white sororities and the making of American ladyhood. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
• Mathews, Jana Eileen. 2022. The Benefits of Friends: inside the complicated world of today's sororities and fraternities. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
• Ross, Lawrence C. 2000. The divine nine: the history of African American fraternities and sororities. New York, NY: Kensington Books.
• Sanua, Marianne Rachel. 2003. Going Greek: Jewish college fraternities in the United States, 1895-1945. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
• Syrett, Nicholas L. 2009. The company he keeps: a history of white college fraternities. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
• Torbenson, Craig L., and Gregory Parks. 2009. Brothers and sisters: diversity in college fraternities and sororities. Madison [N.J.]: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
• Turk, Diana B. 2004. Bound by a mighty vow: sisterhood and women's fraternities, 1870-1920. New York: New York University Press.

Many universities and colleges are establishing programs to actively collect the history of fraternities and sororities on their campus (as well as other student organizations), so check with the university archives or special collections if interested in student life on a specific campus.