The award-winning Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World explores the topic at the heart of social initiatives around the world. Karen Christensen was senior editor; Ray Oldenburg edited the Social Life section. Download a list entries (2 pages). See all editors. A Library Journal Best Reference Title. Digital edition from SAGE.
Encyclopedia of Community
$800.00
Description
Encyclopedia of Community–Introduction (Christensen) Community, a subject that lies at the heart of dozens of social initiatives and academic endeavors, has at last been explored in a resource large enough to encompass its variety and complexity. The Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World is the creation of a global team, led by senior academic editor Karen Christensen of Berkshire Publishing Group, of nearly 400 scholars and professionals. The encyclopedia captures the fullness of our deep and contradictory responses to community, drawing on the work of historians, sociologists, anthropologists, town planners, and experts from a variety of other disciplines and some twenty countries. This publication was developed for SAGE Reference by Berkshire.
“A timely, comprehensive, and very welcome overview of a rich and rapidly growing field of inquiry.” –Robert D. Putnam, author of Bowling Alone
“As we yearn to connect with our fellow citizens during these uncertain times, we have a unique moment to encourage greater participation in our democracy and reinvigorate our communities. The Encyclopedia of Community provides a timely, diverse array of theories and practices that will help citizens understand the value of engaging together to make the critical choices that enrich the way we live, learn, work and govern in our local communities. –Nancy Kranich, Past President, American Library Association
“Incredibly, this is the first encyclopedia to focus on community as concept and experience, so stands alone in its field as the one title any library must buy to cover this topic. Essential for all readerships.” —CHOICE
“American politicians often pair the word ‘community’ with the word ‘freedom’ to describe our basic values. Yet, though used constantly, the word community is defined in widely different and contested ways. Most people like the idea of community, but some intellectuals worry that it might imply collectivism. The great value of this new encyclopedia is that it gives readers a chance to sample the many uses of the term and gain clarity about the issues at stake. It is a major contribution to a more coherent understanding of this fundamental idea.” –Robert Bellah, Professor of Sociology, Emeritus
“Because the writing is clear and direct and the volumes have a textbook style to which students have grown accustomed, the Encyclopedia of Community is a major resource for high school through college and graduate students…… The extensive list of entries, many sidebars using primary references, the reader’s guide, the comprehensive introduction, and resources give the Encyclopedia of Community completeness and depth, and provide the student, social scientist, and historian an essential tool for many and multiple uses.” –Joseph P. Hester
“This ambitious guide surveys the myriad processes and relationships involved in the communities we establish. . . . Helpful features include a list of all sidebars, plus the repetition in each volume of a reader’s guide and list of resources. . . . The result is a tool that will prove essential for the study of sociology for years to come.” –John R.M. Lawrence
“With every passing minute, it becomes more and more apparent that our world is one community. The Encyclopedia of Community serves as recognition of this trend and as a needed resource. The four-volume set not only explains the emerging buzz words of community such as ‘social capital’ or ‘civic engagement’ but also tells many stories of community institutions that work, such as public libraries.” –Sarah Ann Long
Additional information
| Editor | David H. Levinson, Human Relations Area Files, Yale University, Robin Jarrett, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Dennis R. Judd, University of Illinois, Chicago, William Metcalf, Griffith University, Roberta Moudry, Cornell University, Ray Oldenburg, University of West Florida, Sonya Salamon, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Thomas H. Sander, Harvard University, Michael H. Shuman, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, Barry Wellman, University of Toronto, Michael Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| General Editor | |
| Format | |
| ISBN | 761925988 |
| Copyright | 2003 |
| Volumes | 4 |
| Pages | 1800 |
Reviews
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Choice: March 2004 –
Incredibly, this is the first encyclopedia to focus on community as concept and experience, so stands alone in its field as the one title any library must buy to cover this topic. It does not concern itself only with alternative or intentional communities, as readers might expect. The “Reader’s Guide” in volume 1 classifies entries under 20 categories (many under more than one) that indicate the work’s broad scope-e.g., “Activism and Social Transformation,” “Biographies”, “Communities, Affinity,” “Communities, Primordial,” “Internet and Communities,” “Rural Life,” “Social Capital,” “Urban and Suburban Life.” Volume 1 also lists entries alphabetically along with the numerous sidebars that dot the volumes (e.g., “Virtual Visits to International Communities in Russia and Eastern Europe” with the entry, “International Communities in Russia and Eastern Europe”). Lists of further readings follow entries. An appendix, “Resource Guides,” repeated at the end of each volume, includes lists of relevant organizations, books and Web sites, and journals for selected topics. Volume 4 has the index for the set and appendixes, “Libraries Build Community” (the library as meeting place, community bulletin board center, and provider of information resources on health, employment, and other subjects that build community); “Community in Popular Culture” (an annotated list of fiction and nonfiction, plays, movies, television and radio programs, and music); and an invaluable “Master Bibliography of Community: (p. 1611-1734). The scope sprawls, and some information in the appendixes is overly repetitious, but the overall level of work far outweighs these reservations. Summing up: Essential. All readerships.