Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Anthony Cohen makes a distinct break with earlier approaches to the study of community, which treated the subject in largely structural terms. His view is interpretive and experiential, seeing the community as a cultural field with a complex of symbols whose meanings vary among its members. He delineates a concept applicable to local and ethnic communities through which people see themselves as belonging to society. The emphasis on boundary is sensitive to the circumstances in which people become aware of the implications of belonging to a community, and describes how they symbolise and utilise these boundaries to give substance to their values and identities.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Cohen here illuminates the meaning of ``community'' by taking the reader on a guided tour of the way this concept has been used in sociology and anthropology. Although Cohen cites the work of many theorists, (e.g., Weber, Geertz, Douglas, Durkheim), he is especially interested in the symbolic interactionist and phenomenological perspectives on community. Cohen asserts that community is not a feature of its structural boundaries, but instead, arises out of members' perception of the community as a vital expression of themselves, their culture, and identity. Social science should not treat community as a solid object with an objective, static existence; rather, it should be studied as subject to development and change according to the needs and perceptions of those who would claim to be its members. Cohen beautifully illustrates difficult concepts through the use of case studies and ethnographies. There are also some incisive ``mini-reviews'' of related issues such as ``ethnicity'' and ``ritual.'' An informative and sensitive work. Community college and undergraduate libraries.-M.A. Fingrutd, Queensborough Community College, CUNY