The Seductions of Community: Emancipations, Oppressions, Quandaries (School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1930618697 ISBN 13: 9781930618695

Publisher: SAR Press, 2006

Synopsis

The concept of "community" is ubiquitous in the way we talk and think about life in the twenty-first century. Political and economic projects from rain forest conservation to urban empowerment zones focus on "the community" as the appropriate vehicle and target of change. Some scholars see a decline of community and predict dire social consequences; others criticize the concept itself for its ideological baggage and lack of clear definition. Moving the debate to a deeper level, the contributors to this volume aspire to understand the various ways "community" is deployed and the work it performs in different contexts. They compare the many cases where scholars and activists use "community" generically with instances in which the notion of community is less pervasive or even nonexistent. How does a community facilitate governance or capital accumulation? In what ways does it articulate these two forces in local and translocal contexts? What are the unintended consequences of deploying the concept--and what, too, are the potential consequences of criticizing our fascination with it? The essays demonstrate the critical value of using community as the focus of analysis, rather than simply an empty category of heuristic or descriptive convenience.

About this title

About the Author

Gerald W. Creed is Professor of Anthropology at Hunter College, CUNY.

Edition details

• Publisher: SAR Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1930618697
• ISBN 13: 9781930618695
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 348
• Editor: Creed Gerald W.