Rethinking Sociological Perspectives on Community and Commonality: Contours of Micro-Sociological Community Research

Abstract

In sociology, the term ‘community’ is commonly used to identify and determine interindividual relationships with regard to partial identity criteria (e.g. religious affiliation) or shared life scripts (e.g. political opinions). In this chapter, Grundmann and Osterloh contend that the term community denotes the processes allowing individuals to form momentary or lasting connections (i.e. negotiations, joint actions, and shared practices). Therefore, they conceive community as a specific kind of social practice, namely as a cooperative and co-constructive way of living. The authors illustrate the performativity of commonality on a micro-sociological level by analysing the affinity and attachment between members of a yoga group. In particular, the sociologists explore what the members of this group share through their yoga practice, and how a mutual identity—impacting both individuals and society—is being formed through common experiences. The main goal of this chapter is to show that processes of community formation are part of a culture of social coexistence, which are tied to processes of negotiation and communication. Ultimately, the outlined approach to community seeks to disrupt the Western European emphasis on community as pre-societal sociality and instead proposes to understand community as a part of societal relations.