Adolescent Rites of Passage
Bridging the Gap: Adolescent Rites of Passage
General Purpose: To inform.
Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, my audience will understand how cultures use adolescent rites of passage to help people mark the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Central Idea: Adolescent rites of passage have marked the passage of children into adulthood around the world, and elements of those rituals are being used in modern American society.
INTRODUCTION
How did you celebrate your eighteenth birthday? Do you recall your graduation ceremony? If you’re like most Americans, such events marked the moment you became an adult. It may have been the day you walked off a lighted stage, clutching your diploma to your chest. Yet if you were an Arunta from Australia, it might be the moment you rose off of the smoking tree branches you were lying upon and were proclaimed an adult. Regardless of which are the most personally significant, we all have moments in our life that we would consider “rites of passage”—moments that carry us across the threshold between two lives. In societies around the world, collective rites of passage have been seen as ways to initiate young people into adult life. In researching on this topic, I have discovered the important role rites of passage play for youth around the world, and I would like to share this with you this afternoon. Today we will look at the ways in which cultures throughout the world have used rites of passage to mark the transition to adulthood for both boys and girls, and how elements of those rituals are being used today in American society. (Transition) To begin, let’s look at some of the different rites of passage from around the world that show traditional coming-of-age ceremonies in other cultures that are the basis for new American rituals.
BODY
I. Rites of Passage in Cultures: Puberty is often a signal in
General Purpose: To inform.
Specific Purpose: At the end of my speech, my audience will understand how cultures use adolescent rites of passage to help people mark the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Central Idea: Adolescent rites of passage have marked the passage of children into adulthood around the world, and elements of those rituals are being used in modern American society.
INTRODUCTION
How did you celebrate your eighteenth birthday? Do you recall your graduation ceremony? If you’re like most Americans, such events marked the moment you became an adult. It may have been the day you walked off a lighted stage, clutching your diploma to your chest. Yet if you were an Arunta from Australia, it might be the moment you rose off of the smoking tree branches you were lying upon and were proclaimed an adult. Regardless of which are the most personally significant, we all have moments in our life that we would consider “rites of passage”—moments that carry us across the threshold between two lives. In societies around the world, collective rites of passage have been seen as ways to initiate young people into adult life. In researching on this topic, I have discovered the important role rites of passage play for youth around the world, and I would like to share this with you this afternoon. Today we will look at the ways in which cultures throughout the world have used rites of passage to mark the transition to adulthood for both boys and girls, and how elements of those rituals are being used today in American society. (Transition) To begin, let’s look at some of the different rites of passage from around the world that show traditional coming-of-age ceremonies in other cultures that are the basis for new American rituals.
BODY
I. Rites of Passage in Cultures: Puberty is often a signal in
Bibliography: “Coming of Age as an Australian Aruntas.” Michigan Jewish Online Education. 1999. Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. 9 October 2000 . “Coming of Age in the Navajo Nation.” Michigan Jewish Online Education. 1999. Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. 9 October 2000 . Delaney, Cassandra Halleh. “Rites of Passage in Adolescence.” Adolescence 30 (Winter 1995): 891. Elan, Jessica. “A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Puberty Rites and Ceremonies for Females.” The Oxford Review. 5 May 1998. Oxford College of Emory University. 8 Oct. 2000 . Harvey, Aminifu R. and Julia B. Rauch. “A comprehensive Afrocentric rites of passage program for black male adolescents.” Health and Social Work 22.1 (Feb. 1997): 30-37.