Student Research: Emi A. Weed '13

My thesis, entitled “Hookups, Romantic Relationships, and Companionate Love at Dartmouth” is an exploratory, qualitative study of intimacy norms and meaning-making among college students. My research addresses the question, “What are the ways in which undergraduates conceptualize intimate relationships in an environment where hookups are featured in some campus subcultures?” Although some aspects of intimate relationships have actually remained stable over time, relationships on college campuses today also take several different forms than in the past. My research finds that young people have correspondingly developed new ways of conceptualizing and making meaning around their relationships that are not fully encompassed by the hooking up vs. dating dichotomy.

I am currently pursuing my PhD in Sociology at Duke University, continuing my work in qualitative methods, sociology of emotion, and intimate relationships.  My webpage is here.