Portable Communities

Runner-Up, 2009 Association for Humanist Sociology Book Award "I blog, text, IM, email, and I don't like to be without my cell phone or have to shut it off—even in a theater. Let's put it this way, my 'connections' are more important than whatever I'm doing that might force me to shut my cell phone off." — A Member of a Portable Community In contemporary American life, community has become a portable phenomenon—you can "get it to go" wherever and whenever it is desired at the push of a button, mouse, or keyboard. In Portable Communities, sociologist Mary Chayko examines the social dynamics and implications of having access to countless others at any time. Teeming with the observations of people who blog, email, instant message, game, and chat on cell phones, wireless computers, and other portable devices, the book captures the appeal and the excitement, the challenges and the complexities, of online and mobile connectedness. Chayko considers some of the external dynamics that emerge as these communities resonate within the larger society—constant availability, social interaction that is more controlled and controllable, and new opportunities for self-expression, creativity, and even voyeurism. Internal social dynamics involving emotionality, intimacy, play, romance, and networking are also fully explored. Portable Communities provides a unique view of shifts in the social landscape and points the way toward needed social and political change.

Looks at the social implications of having constant access to others through cell phones, wireless computers, and other electronic devices.

This book explores the various ways in which individuals use music and culture to understand and respond to changes in their natural and built environments. Drawing on over 15 years of ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, and participant observation, the author develops the thesis that the relationships, networks, and intimate forms of social interaction in the “portable” community cultivated at bluegrass festival events are significant cultural formations that shape participants’ relationships to their localities. With specific attention to the ways in which the strength of these relationships are translated into meaningful sites of community identity, place, and action following devastating local floods that destroyed homes and businesses, displacing residents for years, The Portable Community: Place and Displacement in Bluegrass Festival Life sheds light on the strength of such communities when tested and under external threat. A study of the central role of arts and music in grappling with social and environmental change, including their role in facilitating disaster relief and recovery, this volume will appeal to scholars of sociology with interests in symbolic interactionism, the sociology of music, culture, and the sociology of disaster.

This book focuses on the production and circulation of portable luxury goods in the early Iron Age (1200-600 BCE). The study is particularly interested in community formation as mediated by artthough not at the national level, as is customary with most studies of antiquity. Rather, it is concerned with the complex networks that gave rise to extended communities across a range of spaces near and far. It tells a story about many communities coming together, overlapping, interacting, and reforming through various relationships between human beings and objects. It studies these processes for the early Iron Age Levant (including present-day Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan), focusing on portable luxury arts, in particular ivories and metal works."

Help church members to talk their faith into their everyday worlds. Portable Faith provides simple but effective ways to help people go public with their faith. Author Sarah Cunningham provides samples of activities and exercises that encourage people to meet others in the community—for example: begin by mapping out where your church members live; create a fellowship meal of ethnic foods that come from the church's surrounding community; start a reading group at work; or simply participate in a neighborhood watch. These activities are flexible and workable even with small budgets. They can be done by individuals, Bible study groups, Sunday morning classes, or by the entire church. By the end of the book, Sarah Cunningham hopes that readers will look at their church community with new eyes.

Written by a collective of brilliant authors, this essential work provokes respectful dialogue about race that catalyzes school-changing action. The book masterfully weaves together an array of scenarios and discussions, and directly addresses challenging topics such as discomfort, violence, advocacy, bias, and responsibility. The authors call on their lived experiences and, most important, their work with tens of thousands of educators, leaders, and students to help all of us do better in our schools and communities. Learn how to talk about race in the classroom and advocate for racial equity in schools: Recognize the presence of systemic racism in schools and understand why racism is such an uncomfortable topic for many. Use scenarios and effective discussion questions to encourage challenging conversations. Learn how to advocate for underserved communities and those who suffer under racism. Resist racial stereotypes and promote equity in the classroom. Take appropriate action based on challenging conversations. Ultimately develop classrooms, schools, and districts into safe, anti-racist educational strongholds and promote positive learning experiences for marginalized students. Contents: Acknowledgments Table of Contents About the Authors Introduction: How to Get the Most out of This Book Part 1: Getting Ready for Challenging Conversations Chapter 1: Why Is Talking About Race So Hard? Chapter 2: Why Is Discomfort Required? Chapter 3: Why Scenarios as an Educational Tool? Chapter 4: How Can We Create a Safe Space for Conversation? Chapter 5: How Will Faculty and Staff Set the Standard for Challenging Conversations? Part 2: Using Scenarios for Important Conversations Chapter 6: Talking About Bias--How Can I Be Biased When I'm Not a Racist? Chapter 7: Talking About History--How Does the Shadow of 1619 Affect Us Today? Chapter 8: How Can Something Be My Responsibility When It's Not My Fault? Chapter 9: Talking About Advocacy--What Is My Duty to My Friends? Chapter 10: Talking About Law Enforcement--How Do Police Officers Help Us? How Do They Sometimes Hurt Us? Chapter 11: Talking About School--Where Are the Black People? Chapter 12: Talking About Violence--How Can We Talk About Terrible Things? Part 3: Moving From Discussion to Action Chapter 13: How Do We Engage Our Communities? Chapter 14: How Can We Advocate for Change? Chapter 15: Facing Disappointment and Loss--Why Isn't Being Right Enough? Chapter 16: How Do We Create Equity Consciousness? Chapter 17: The Next Chapter--How Do We Shift From Opposing Bigotry to Practicing Anti-Racism? References and Resources Index

Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.