About This Book
An insider's account sketches German university student life by detailing the customs, institutions, and ceremonies of student fraternities, including communal songs, ritualized drinking and fencing encounters, and the everyday rites that bind members. The narrative contrasts the striking public displays with deeper bonds and shared traditions, traces their historical origins while noting the tendency toward moderation, and augments description with numerous popular student songs and firsthand anecdotes that aim to make the inner workings of this distinctive social world intelligible to outsiders.