Hazing is an ancient, universal practice. In past and modern societies, the need to join a group is an aspect of humanity. The process of joining a group frequently includes the need to be hazed to legitimate full membership. This article uses the theoretical frameworks of Foucault and Bourdieu's perspectives of social order, Tajfel and Turner's…

Hazing, associated with initiation, aims at taking newcomers from novice status to a status of functional and acknowledged members of a new group. However, the process is often dangerous, injurious, and usually secretive. Hazing may occur as an unauthorised component of institutionally sanctioned orientation programmes commonly held for new…