Reference no: EM132388072

Assignment: Reflect upon the important communities (other than family and friends) in your life and list them. You might consider some of the following as personal communities:

• Recreational club or league

• A workplace

• A block, neighborhood, or town where you live or once lived

• A religious congregation or group

• A mutual help (self-help) or other support group

• A civic club, or group working for change in your society or community

• The college or university you are attending

• An Internet chat room or other on-line group

Consider why you listed each community. Consider the emotions you experience in this community.

Review your list and determine which of these communities are:

• Localities?

• Relational communities?

• Microsystems?

• Workplaces?

• Other organizations?

• Mediating structures linking individuals to larger communities or systems?

• Larger populations or macrosystems?

Now, select the community with which you most often interact outside of family and friends and assess that community using the four McMillan-Chavis elements of sense of community: Membership, influence, integration, and shared emotional connection.

In an essay, identify your selected community and address the questions listed under each of the four elements.

Membership:

• How is membership defined? What else do members have in common?

• Are there common symbols shared by members?

• What investment (material, emotional, other) have you made in this community?

• How deep is your sense of emotional safety in this community?

• Is being a member of this group an important identity for you? How?

Influence:

• How does being in this community influence you as an individual?

• How much influence do you as an individual have on this community?

• If you wanted to influence a decision in this community, how would you do that?

Integration:

• How are your individual needs fulfilled in this community?

• How do you help fulfill other members' needs?

• What values are shared in this community?

Shared Emotional Connection:

• Do you feel an emotional bond with other members of the community? How?

• What rituals, celebrations or other occasions strengthen community bonds?

• What community narratives are shared in this community?

Length: 3-5 pages.