The Sociology of Community Connections [Paperback]

Many of our current social problems have been attributed to the breakdown or loss of community as a place and to the fragmentation of connections due to an extreme value of individualism in the Western world, particularly in the United States. Not all scholars and researchers agree that individualism and technology are the primary culprits in the loss of community as it existed in the middle decade of the 20th century. Nonetheless, people exist in groups, and connections are vital to their existence and in the daily performance of activities. The second edition of the Sociology of Community Connections will identify and help students understand community connectedness in the present and future.

1. Social Connections

Introduction

Our Earliest Connections

Transmitting Culture and Beliefs

Environment and Modeling

Generalizing Attachment Experiences

When Social Bonding Fails

Attachments Across the Lifecycle

Community Attachments

Shifting Values, Changing Connections

Purposeful Connections

Summary

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1. Conceptions of Community: Past and Present

Introduction

European Conceptions of Community

American Conceptions of Community

Contemporary Urban Sociology

Social Movements and Conceptions of Community

Loose Connections: Moving to the Center of the Continuum

Summary