U4 AOS1 Community Flashcards
Define community
Sociologists refer to the concept of community as a group of people who share social relationships through being geographically close to each other and/or being in regular contact with each other, and through having similarities such as mutual interests and/or shared ideology.
Define dichotomy
A dichotomy is a division between two opposites
What even in history can be used as an example when describing Gemeinschaft and Gesellshchaft
The Industrial Revolution
Sociologists saw huge social change in the 19th century (or the 1800s) due to the Industrial Revolution threatened traditional social bonds mass migration to cities for work competition individualism loss of rural community destroyed close knit, family ties
Describe Ferdinand Tonnies theory
Tonnies studied the massive changes that occurred to pre-industrial agrarian communities during the Industrial Revolution.
He referred to the traditional way of life as Gemeinschaft (which loosely translates, in English, as ‘community’). Tonnies referred to the new way of life – the beginning of the modern era – as Gesellschaft (loosely translating as ‘society’)
List some of the feature of a Gemeinschaft community
- geographically based
- rural
- restricted mobility
- strong family ties
- life-ling relationships
- face to face contact
- connected to work and what they produced
- conservative values
- religious
- resistant to change
- shared identity
- focused on the need of the collective
- culturally homogenous
List some of the feature of a Gesellschaft community
- highly mobile, even if geographically based
- urban
- values work, career and money
- weaker family ties
- transactional, superficial relationships
- culturally heterogenous including subcultures
- disconnection from labour and what is produced
- more communication with strangers
- reliance on new technology
- diversity in views and values
- diversity of religious beliefs
- multiple identities
- multicultural
- focuses on the needs of the individual
Describe the impact of technology on the concept of community
Modern communities have now evolved into ‘network societies’, where relationships, work, economics, politics and culture are now organised predominantly through ICT networks.
Many Western nations moved from a manufacturing base to ICT-based service industries, for example, away from physical/geographical factories making cars and t-shirts to the provision of financial and education services
Describe the effects of sociocultural changes on the concept of community
Sociocultural factors refer to the social and cultural forces within a society. Social factors can include roles and relationships between people; cultural factors refer more to the accepted ways of life for those people.
Sociocultural factors are always changing in response to various influences such as new technologies, political or economic changes, shifts in attitudes and the emergence of new ideas.
Sociocultural factors continued to affect change in communities well after Tonnies’ time (around the time of the Industrial Revolution) and continue to do so now.
Describe and list the factors that influence feelings of inclusion
Inclusion refers to when members of a community feel connected, united and valued.
- members are given opportunities to participate, celebrate and share with others
- they have access to the skills and knowledge possessed by the group
- they have confidence, derived from their experience, that their needs will be met
- they are able to work towards common goals
- they have sense of camaraderie and shared experience with various work/ethnic/family/friendship networks within the larger group.
Describe and list the factors that influence feelings of exclusion
Exclusions refers to when members feel disconnected, isolated or alienated from their community. - racism - sexism - ageism - homophobia - Islamophobia - moral panics - discrimination. Feelings of exclusion can be accompanied and exacerbated by circumstances such as poverty, disability and homelessness, as well as associated stigmas.
Describe social connectedness
Belonging to groups that are important for an individuals health
describe social capital
Defines the amount and quality of networks and relationships built on trust and reciprocity that connect people in a community
Describe social cohesion
The degree to which individuals in a community identify with it (the community) and feel bound to support it – especially it’s norms, beliefs, and values
How does ICT
The digital revolution means that people can come together around shared values and ideas from across the world
