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The Institute for Community Studies was formed in the
fall of 1998 and was originally affiliated with Montclair State
University in New Jersey. In 2004 the ICS became an independent
organization whose mission is to conduct research on community and
community-related issues and to serve as a resource center for
organizations devoted to citizen engagement, community building, and
social justice.
Our
Philosophy
Community is one of the most important elements of human existence.
Community may be defined as a complex of overlapping social networks
characterized by a shared sense of interests and responsibilities,
accompanied by feelings of togetherness. Community is a set of mutually
beneficial social bonds. It manifests itself in solidarity, trust and
security. We agree with Michael Shuman who wrote in Going Local:
Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age, that “a community
in which people know and care about each other is the basic building block
for all other civilized activities, whether commercial, political, social,
or spiritual.” Unfortunately, there are many factors that cause divisions
among people -- that work against strong community. In order to strengthen
community we need to pinpoint these factors as well as those that bring
people together.
One of the most important factors in the development of community is a
strong attachment to place. In fact, one definition of community is that
it exists where people within a geographically defined area have social
and psychological ties with each other and with the place where they live.
Certainly non-spatial communities exist but place-based communities are
part of the foundation for all human relationships and understanding and
promoting the value of placed-based relationships is an important focus of
the ICS.
The philosophy guiding the ICS can be understood within the framework of
current discussions of civil society. Civil society is that realm of
society that is comprised of the free associations of individuals and
groups outside of the realm of the government and outside the corporate
sector, i.e. between states and markets. Civil society is comprised of the
entire spectrum of formal or informal groups and associations ranging from
families, to cooperatives, to social clubs and friendship networks, to
small or large scale organizations that actively aim to shape society. In
Benjamin Barber’s words civil society is a "third sector that mediates
between our specific individuality as economic producers and consumers and
our abstract collectivity as members of a sovereign people." The ICS is
one of the many groups working to promote an informed and active
citizenry, and building a strong civil society.
Staff:
Director: Jerry Kloby,
e-mail:
gkloby@communityknowledge.net
Affiliates:
Vivodh Anand, serves on the Philosophy & Religious
Studies faculty at Hofstra University, New York; e-mail:
vanand@communityknowledge.net
A.J. Faas, Community-Based Research and Geographic
Information Systems specialist; e-mail:
ajfaas@communityknowledge.net
Kathryn Kloby, Senior Research Associate, National Center for Public Productivity,
New Jersey; e-mail:
kkloby@communityknowledge.net
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