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These files are maintained strictly for historical reference, research, and recordkeeping purposes,
and the content has not been altered or updated since archiving.
Content on this site may not meet current digital accessibility standards.
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Michael, So then looking back to Lewin's time, we might say that there is an upside to neo-liberalism - despite how much academics love to poo-poo it? (sounds like what Marx might have been arguing about capitalism - but everyone forgets the positive aspects of capitalism that Marx points to!). Some balance is needed then? Aufheben? -greg On Tue, Jul 30, 2013 at 7:41 AM, Glassman, Michael <glassman.13@osu.edu>wrote: > Hi Andy and Phillip, > > It is my reading the Putnam and the Lewin of 1947 actually disagree more > than agree. Putnam seemed to long for an earlier time when higher levels > of social capital and social cohesion exists because people did things > together and formed communities big and small based on the things that they > did - today people have become too distributed. He worried we were losing > this cohesion which he put in the context of social capital. Lewin, who > actually lived through this time, seemed much less sanguine about social > capital as social capital, cohesion as cohesion. Just because a community > was cohesive did not mean it was healthy. > > I think of the community the L.J. Hannifan who coined the term social > capital was describing in the mountains of West Virginia. The qualities he > described were really interesting, but as is so often the case it was what > he left out which was really important. What would happen if some > oppressed group moved into their tightly knit group? Or how trapped were > women in their roles? I think one of the goals of Lewin and his colleagues > was to point out that often social capital and group cohesion could be a > devil's bargain that can easily descend into tribalism. It could also be > used as an excuse, claiming if you lost it communities would fall apart. > > The development of well functioning group communities is always an ongoing > project. > > Anyway, my readings of the two scholars. > > Michael > ________________________________________ > From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] on behalf > of White, Phillip [Phillip.White@ucdenver.edu] > Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 9:18 AM > To: ablunden@mira.net; eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity > Subject: RE: [xmca] Lewin and unification of the social sciences > > thanks, Andy - Putnam i know and have, and can reread him. > > phillip > ________________________________________ > From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On Behalf > Of Andy Blunden [ablunden@mira.net] > Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 7:11 AM > To: White, Phillip > Cc: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity > Subject: Re: [xmca] Lewin and unification of the social sciences > > Apologies (I had returned the book to the library and it was a long time > ago). > The term is "long civic generation," and it is proposed in "Bowling > Alone" by Robert Putnam. > If you do a google search for "long civic generation" you will find what > you need. > > Andy > <http://www.academia.edu/3746209/Social_Solidarity_versus_Social_Capital_> > White, Phillip wrote: > > Andy, you wrote: > > > > snip > > > > Greg, people in the social cohesion business record that from the > > mid-1930s till the late 1950s (in the US) there was what they call "the > > long communitarian generation", after which life descended into > > liberalism, with signs of recovery only in the past couple of decades. > > > > snip > > > > in my ignorance of this period of american history i had no recognition > of what you're describing here - so i googled "the long communitarian > generation" and nothing really came up that i could attach meaning to. so, > who are the "they" that you are referring to? references to names would be > a help for me here. > > > > thanks, > > > > phillip > > > > > > > > > > -- > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *Andy Blunden* > Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/ > Book: http://www.brill.nl/concepts > http://marxists.academia.edu/AndyBlunden > > > > > > > -- Gregory A. Thompson, Ph.D. Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Anthropology 883 Spencer W. Kimball Tower Brigham Young University Provo, UT 84602 http://byu.academia.edu/GregoryThompson