I have just returned from a tour of the Far East for my higher education colleges: visiting Yangon in Myanmar, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh, Danang and Hanoi in Vietnam, and stopping over in Bangkok, Thailand on my way out and back. It was a demanding whirlwind schedule: attending five graduation ceremonies, making speeches, and giving presentations to students, lecturers, and administrative staff.
The trip got me thinking about the purpose and the theatre of graduation ceremonies. You can consider them a ritual, in the sense that they involve a set of rehearsed customs, traditions, and formal procedures. Anthropologists love studying rituals for several reasons, as their practices will offer insights into various aspects of human culture, society, and behaviour. Rituals often have symbolic significance and are performed to mark important events or transitions, so what are the elements of graduation ceremonies and what do they tell us about society?
In graduation ceremonies, various ritualistic practices are typically observed: the donning of mediaeval academic regalia, processions, speeches, the conferral of degrees, and the awarding of diplomas - they are a form of costume drama. The various parts of the ceremony hold symbolic value and are mainly based on tradition, which gives them a feeling of authenticity and authority, emphasizing the status and importance of the student's achievements in higher education. The solemnity of the ritual is mixed with an air of joy and celebration, which creates a happy and excited atmosphere. The ceremony carries an emotional and cultural significance for the participants, representing success and the culmination of years of academic study. These ceremonial aspects and procedures have an impact on all attendees, including the graduands, senior academics, teachers, parents, and friends. The ritual reinforces the value of qualifications in higher education.
Graduation ceremonies are usually well-rehearsed pageants: beginning with a procession, sometimes a student performance of music and dance, then senior academics and honourary quests giving speeches, with, usually banal, advice to the graduands, like, "Remember today is not the end but the beginning of a new stage in your life, etc" (anyway, who remembers the speeches); followed by a line of graduands mounting a podium to dramatic background music; shaking hands with a senior bod and, very importantly, having their photograph taken receiving a certificate (often blank these days, as the real one will be picked up or sent later). During the receiving of certificates, there is often a hubbub of conversation, as the audience loses interest in the ceremony once 'their child' has been on stage; at the end, there is another procession, more often these days, a group photograph when mortar boards are tossed into the air, and finally, a well-earned crack at some food and drinks.
However, the reality of the ceremony is not as important as the tradition the ritual conveys: celebrating achievement and recognising a transition to a new beginning. It is the ritual that matters and that is why it is valued by all the participants.
PS. Here is an example of one of those graduation ceremonies at British University College Yangon: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10U7CrObhKviEewQ6cN4cp6s-s--VFTdd/view?usp=drivesdk
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