Understanding Communities: Social Sciences

Learning About Communities

• Learning about communities is key to understanding interactions with others
• It helps understanding of social connections
• Social sciences deepen the understanding of communities, community life, and action
• Social sciences develop literature on community studies with various approaches and methods

Perspectives of Disciplines

• Sociology studies group formations, relationships, dynamics, and interaction within social structures
• Sociological perspectives provide analytical tools for community members to address issues
• Anthropology examines complexities in communities from its history and culture
• It focuses on how knowledge addresses community problems
• Political science focuses on power relations, authority, leadership, and decision-making
• Politics studies power interplay among actors within and outside communities
• It aids in understanding local government interactions

Defining Community

• Community originates from the Latin word "communitas," meaning "fellowship"
• It comes from "communis," meaning "common."
• "Cum/com" means "with/together"
• "Munire" means "to strengthen/to fortify/to defend"

Community Perspectives in Social Science

• An informal, organized social entity with a sense of identity
• A group sharing values, organization, and interest
• A group with connections formed by shared histories, experiences, geographies, and identities

Community in the Institutional Perspective

• Communities coordinate values, goals, and actions through mechanisms
• Social Institutions perform this action
• Institutions are established rules ensuring regular behavior
• They are categorized into formal and informal institutions

Formal and Informal Institutions

• Formal Institutions are explicitly communicated and legally codified
• Informal Institutions are practices, norms, and traditions
• Culture, conduct, and belief systems define community

Community in the Civil Society Perspective

• Communities are built pursuing advocacies and goals
• NGOs and POs goals complement the State to address problems

Community in the Organic Perspective

• An organic perspective refers to local groups addressing community issues

Social Dimensions of Community

• Structural dimension involves geographical aspects
• Geographical dimension focuses on how physical space shapes a community
• It includes the location of human, natural, and technological resources

Community Territory

• It considers its territory's limits
• It looks at the distribution of population
• It includes the location of resources

Community Socio-Political and Economic Dimensions

• Socio-Political Dimension is the relationship of power and control
• Economic Dimension involves allocating, producing, and distributing resources
• Cultural Dimension encompasses values and beliefs passed down

Dynamics and Processes of Community

• Focuses on power relations, leadership, and change
• It includes legal authoritative basis of elected officials
• Considers informal power structures alongside formal ones

Community Actors

• Legal-Authoritative Decision-Makers are individuals or bodies with formal authority
• Individuals or groups shaping decisions without direct authority

Community Typologies

• Formal-Informal Typology emphasizes leadership and power
• Rural-Urban Typology is based on development, industrialization, and lifestyle
• Local-Global Typology consists of individuals interacting within a shared environment

The Community Sector

• This is a broad set of organizations
• Organizations function beyond government
• It Includes individuals and groups organized for social, political, economic, cultural, or religious purposes

Community-Based Organizations

• They act within institutional arrangements
• They may operate beyond national borders
• Their transnational character allows networking with organizations