crittically examine the use of the term community
Critically examine the use of the term 'community' in the 1990's. The essay should be structured in such a way that it incorporates reference to Social Policy, Legislation and practice issues. Students will be required to make use of theoretical studies, particularly from relevant academic and other sources such as books, journals and relevant publications. The meaning of community is a tricky one. It is used in many different contexts and is a concept that means very different things to different people. A useful starting point is in the book Keywords by Raymond Williams. His research on the word community indicates that it has been part of English language since the 14th century, originally used to refer to the common people as opposed to those of rank, or to state or organised society. By the 16th century it was used to refer to 'the quality of having something in common' and ' to a sense of common identity and characteristics.' In time Community also came to refer to a particular quality of relationship, as well as a distinction between community and civil society on one hand and the state on the other. There are many different types of community and the word is very ambiguous, but it is possible to dist
This acknowledges that neighbourhood and kinship networks continue to flourish in the city and locality and primary ties do in fact still exist. The idea of the unit is not to provide easy solutions for the short term, but to target the grass roots of the problem, helping people to help themselves. Community has become a 'buzz' word with regards to political issues such as these. They talk about a strong community consciousness generated by common residence and common necessity - a social support network that they feel is lacking in modern day society. The objective of the new towns were for them to become a 'microcosm of contemporary British society' (Aldridge 1979). As a result of this he came up with three terms: Community lost, community saved and community liberated. Good or bad, the idea of community is about the interaction between people, and it is important because it effects the way people think about themselves and produces their personal identity. Importantly, ties to locality are less important and individuals are instead submerged in the general anonymity of city life. As a result Howe found their lives to become further impoverished by 'social isolation, fragmentation and distrust' (Howe 1990). This applies mostly to those with mental or physical disabilities or conditions and usually involves people with similar types of disability living in the same home, with varying degree of intervention by nurses or carers depending on the severity of the disability. It this third viewpoint that I think best describes the notion of community in the 21st century. The rapid growth of conurbation's accompanied by people's new desire to travel and not stay in the place they were born meant that in general people are a lot more anonymous in society. The success of this varied between places although in general the government's utopian ideal was slightly unrealistic. Community is still a relevant notion in the 21st century although it is important to look past geographical boundaries and locality and instead see community in the broader sense of social networks.
Common topics in this essay:
North London,
National Strategy,
East Belfast,
Raymond Williams,
Milton Keynes,
London Towns,
Neighbourhood Renewal',
Policy Legislation,
Unit Set,
,
social policy,
national strategy neighbourhood,
inner city,
community seen,
policy legislation,
concept community,
'care community',
national strategy,
meant people,
21st century,
social support,
social policy legislation,
development community care,
care community applies,
policy legislation practice,
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Acceptance Essays
