Block, Peter. Community: the structure of belonging. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2008. Chapters 1-2 The main focus of Block’s book is to “create a more positive and connected future for our communities, we must be willing to trade their problems for their possibilities.” The first chapter begins by laying out the format of the text and the multiple authors and their thoughts that Block will draw on to explain how to create and maintain healthy community. Block then goes on to discuss the importance of context within the community or the “fabric” of the community. Blocks makes it a point to discuss John McKnight’s three insights within a community: gifts, associational life, and community member power. Essentially, the context …show more content…
Story telling is one useful method of building relationships that Block highlights. Specifically, “restoration can be considered the willingness to complete and eliminate the power out of the current story we have of our community and our place in,” which creates an opportunity to produce a new story. Overall, this chapter discusses the power and effectiveness of creating or changing the narrative of a community to provide it a sense of identity. Wheatley, Margaret. Walk out walk on a learning journey into communities daring to live the future now. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011. Wheatly’s recount of a community building process in Santos, Brazil lead by Edgard Gouvela Junior gives an example of theories and methodologies that apply to community building being put into effect. Throughout the text, there is a sense of “us versus them.” Warriors Without Weapons are a community building group from the Elos Institute. Concerned with this perpetual “us versus them” attitude of the community members, one Warrior without Weapons was skeptical of the project. Fortunately, Deborah decided to participate in a “thirty-day game.” “The purpose of the game was not to help, save or fix anyone else. The purpose of the game was to discover how play unleashes everyone’s creativity, how it invades us to see what’s possible …show more content…
Both categories of identity play into how an individual classifies him/herself as independent or interdependent. Self-stereo typing is also used to establish identity and find a specific group one can be associated with. “The [stereotypes] describe the typical characteristic of people in various social groups. They also include information about how a group is different from other groups.” This resurfaces the idea of us versus them. Groups end up in conflict due to their divergent characteristics and differences. After forming an identity, of course an individual will only want to protect their individualistic identity and collective identity to create a complete image of self. If this sense of self is challenged, an individual will often turn to a group seeking reassurance. Individuals are the building blocks of groups and multiple facets that should be considered when analyzing group
In the book Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman there are many different characters, and even some of them cross paths. A community garden was started just by one person therefore everyone follows. They all learn how to get along with other people, how to not stereotype so much, and how to depend on each other in their community. All of them struggle with something, whether it's with family, friends, or feeling stereotyped. They learn the importance of a community, and realize how much they really depend on each other. Having a community is important for all people to incorporate diversity, culture,and unique stories into their lives. You don't realize how much people depend on their community until its gone. The importance
Beyond the basic need for a sense of control, people are driven by their sense of identity, of who they are. Each person lives in their own universes, which are centered upon their feelings of self-purpose. There are multiple types of identities, such as individual and group identities. Each person's identity is formed differently because of the unique experiences every individual encounters. The formation can be affected by many things such as their home environment, social interactions, and physiological health.
The author writes that in asset based community development and a core Public Allies belief, is that the symbolic “glass of water” is both half empty and half full. The author extends the example to individuals as well as communities in saying that “ever member of a community, no exceptions, has gifts and talents that contribute to the community.” Additionally, every individual and community has weaknesses, and the proper application of leadership is to combine everybody’s assets to counter everybody’s weaknesses in the process of improving our communities. Public Allies makes no attempt as an organization to find and correct weaknesses, they only identify Allies’ assets to train them into community leaders. These ideas align well with the authors definition of leadership.
Identity is a group of characteristics, data or information that belongs exactly to one person or a group of people and that make it possible to establish differences between them. The consciousness that people have about themselves is part of their identity as well as what makes them unique. According to psychologists, identity is a consistent definition of one’s self as a unique individual, in terms of role, attitudes, beliefs and aspirations. Identity tries to define who people are, what they are, where they go or what they want to be or to do. Identity could depend on self-knowledge, self-esteem, or the ability of individuals to achieve their goals. Through self-analysis people can define who they are and who the people around them are. The most interesting point about identity is that some people know what they want and who they are, while it takes forever for others to figure out the factors mentioned before. Many of the individuals analyzed in this essay are confused about the different possible roles or positions they can adopt, and that’s exactly the reason they look for some professional help.
Tajifel, H. a. (1986). The social identity theory of inter-group behavior. Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/258189
In his book The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common, Alphonso Lingis (1994) discusses community and proposes an untraditional view of community, the “other community”. Traditionally community is known as a social structure in which individuals have something in common. This usually refers to a shared location, shared identity or common values or beliefs. In this traditional view or “rational community” these commonalities are crucial in uniting individuals.
Mary Pipher’s “Writing to Connect” focuses on persuading its reader through personal experience, expert testimonies, and figurative language that his writing can change the world. At the end of the text, Pipher hopes that her reader believes that one’s words have value and can impact others.
Some of the strengths of the social identity theory are that; throughout the years it has supported many empirical studies, it has also demonstrated the social categorization in intergroup behaviors, allowed us to differentiate between social and personal identities and has provide explanations for other areas of psychology (conformity). A weaknesses of the Social identity theory is that its application is restricted in the sense that it has very low ecological validity. Another weakness is that SIT favors situational factors rather than dispositional is not supported by evidence. The social Identity theory can be used to how to explain how we form our social and personal identities in the terms of in and out groups. SIT can also be used to explain why there is conflict between humans and different societies.
Rothman, J. (1974). Three models of community organization practice. Strategies of community organization: A book of readings, 22-38.
Social identity theory can be applied to many different problems and real life situations. It demonstrates the role of categorization in behaviors, and explores how being part of a group affects social interaction in everyday life.
Should the most selfish elite individual take heed and meditate on the ideology behind community, he/she may awaken to the fact that many persons looking after one person has more advantages and a better survival rate than one trying to preserve one. The needs of the one will never outweigh the needs of the collective group. In the end individuality inevitably leads to self-destruction; therefore, commitment to community is a requirement for contemporary Americans and vital to its survival.
The McMillan-Chavis model consists of four elements that are necessary to evaluate a sense of community. They are interdependent and all exist on some level whether positively or negatively. These four elements are membership, influence, integration, and emotional connection. While some of these may be more predominant, they are all contributors to a psychological sense of community. To provide an example of how the McMillan-Chavis model is applied to a community setting that one belongs to, the University of New Haven Community Psychology graduate program will be the community of application. This particular community has a respectable psychological sense of community that provides a suitable example.
..., & Bishop, A. P. (2005). Special section on learning in communities. The Journal of Community Informatics, 1(2), 116–133. Retrieved January 4, 2008 from http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/335/243.
People are what make a community, communities may have disagreements sometimes, but they get through it in order to work. A good community is a place of shelter, trust, and encouragement. We should protect each other and work with each other to make our community great. Communication and respect fuel a community. Community is about feeling belonging. A community is a socially constructed environment where everyone in it works together. In the end, everyone can stand together,work together,support each other and it will be a beloved
Frequently however, issues arise amongst a community that need attention. In this essay I will outline and discuss some of these issues and the interventions, projects or programmes designed and used to tackle and combat them. The three models of intervention or, ‘Community Development’, I will discuss in this essay, "Social Planning", "Community Development", and "Social/Community Action", all have the same aim regardless of how it is accomplished and this is to improve and maintain the conditions which affect the lives of the community.