The Concept of Community: Readings with Interpretations

by Scott Greer

Overview

"Community" is a basic concept, perhaps the basic concept, in social science and in social philosophy. Its meanings are many and varied, yet it is pre-eminent in discussions of man and his world. The editors of this book have selected material from many sources in an attempt to explore the meaning and relevance of the idea of community as it is used in social science, political commentary, and general literature.

The book is organized around four basic problems: What aspect of social life is community? What is the character of community in different settings? What is the relationship of politics to community? What is the prospect for community in today's changing world? To answer these questions, the editors have drawn from historical and contemporary sources in political philosophy, empirical social science, anthropology, sociology, history, political science, and ancient and modern literature (e.g., Isaac Bashevis Singer, C. P. Snow, Lawrence Durrell, and others)—all reflecting a broad spectrum of attitudes and approaches. Community is considered in both Western and non-Western societies. The editors introduce each chapter of the book with a critique and provide the reader with an informed general commentary.

Including some of the classic statements on the meaning and importance of "community" while drawing upon new sources of insight, this book supplements courses relating to this central concept. Emphasizing the idea of community as an aspect of social organization and political life, it is especially useful in political science and sociology courses dealing with local politics and the urban world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780202309620
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	05/30/2007
Pages:	382
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

David W. Minar received his graduate degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and has taught at Columbia University, Northwestern University, and the University of Washington. He is the author of Ideas and Politics: The American Experience; editor of Problems and Prospects in Public Management; and co-editor of The New Urbanization.

Scott Greer was, until his death, professor of sociology and urban studies at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Before that he served as professor of sociology and political science at Northwestern University. He is the author of The Logic of Social Inquiry, also published by Transaction.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION: THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY, PART ? ROOTS OF COMMUNITY IN SOCIAL LIFE: SCENES AND KINDS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION, PART ? KINDS OF COMMUNITIES, PART III IN POLITICS AND COMMUNITY, PART iv COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE, IN TODAY'S WORLD, Index

Editorial Reviews

Minar and Greer have a strong humanistic orientation, and their reader is full of evocative pieces by people like William Golding, Ruth Benedict, Van Wyck Brooks, Lawrence Durrell, Henri Pirenne—along with a few social science stalwarts like George Homans, C. W. Mills, Daniel Lerner, and Edward Shils. But on the whole the book is a collection of semiphilosophical pieces exploring the meaning of community in the sense of bonds, consensus, love, or the Redfieldian notion of common understandings.” —John W. Bennett, American Anthropologist

From the Publisher