Group Life
An Invitation to Local Sociology
1. Edition October 2022
224 Pages, Softcover
Professional Book
Short Description
Sociological analysis is replete with debates about "micro" and "macro," individual and society, but all too often these miss the point: interacting groups are the hinge that connects the two. To understand how structures matter and how individuals navigate them, we must take groups and people in local communities seriously.
Gary Alan Fine and Tim Hallett skillfully argue that sociologists have the obligation to examine the role of small communities in the creation of both the interaction order and structural realities. With novel concepts and rich ethnographic examples, this book describes how group commitments shape selves and society, emphasizing the importance of a meso-level approach to social organization. Fine and Hallett provide new models of identity, culture, conflict, and control, and consider how a network of groups can provide insight into extended communication channels and social media lattices. Ultimately, they show that, despite the importance of institutions and individuals, group life is the fundamental building block of community.
This timely book makes the case for a local sociology that includes sociality. It will be a welcome resource for students and sociologists, and a necessary call to action for the discipline as a whole.
Further versions
Sociological analysis is replete with debates about "micro" and "macro," individual and society, but all too often these miss the point: interacting groups are the hinge that connects the two. To understand how structures matter and how individuals navigate them, we must take groups and people in local communities seriously.
Gary Alan Fine and Tim Hallett skillfully argue that sociologists have the obligation to examine the role of small communities in the creation of both the interaction order and structural realities. With novel concepts and rich ethnographic examples, this book describes how group commitments shape selves and society, emphasizing the importance of a meso-level approach to social organization. Fine and Hallett provide new models of identity, culture, conflict, and control, and consider how a network of groups can provide insight into extended communication channels and social media lattices. Ultimately, they show that, despite the importance of institutions and individuals, group life is the fundamental building block of community.
This timely book makes the case for a local sociology that includes sociality. It will be a welcome resource for students and sociologists, and a necessary call to action for the discipline as a whole.
Chapter One: Believing in Groups: The Possibility of a Local Sociology
Part I: The Individual in the Group
Chapter Two: Being in Groups: Reflective and Collective Identities
Chapter Three: Belonging to Groups: The Power and Benefits of Commitment
Part II: The World of the Group
Chapter Four: Building Groups: The Power of Idioculture
Chapter Five: Bonding by Groups: The Basis for Collective Action
Part III: The Group in the World
Chapter Six: Battling Groups: The Minuet of Conflict and Control
Chapter Seven: Bridging Groups: Extending the Local
Chapter Eight: Better Sociology: A Call to Small Arms
References
Paul Atkinson, Cardiff University
"Extending their discipline-defining contributions, Fine and Hallett broaden our understanding of the social dimension of human interactions as they impact meaning-making and action. They propose an original and encompassing sociological approach to group life that will be widely referenced in years to come."
Michèle Lamont, Harvard University
"Their roadmap is urgently needed in a sociology currently obsessed with provincialism, parochialism, and only the dark sides of life. Amidst this doom and gloom, Fine and Hallett shine a bright light on the familiar, which often suffers from, well, its familiarity. Theirs is not just an effort to remind everyone that local sociology is still important. It is the framework for doing sociology."
Seth Abrutyn, Symbolic Interaction
"[Fine and Hallett's] invitation toward a local sociology is one to which many sociologists should RSVP both affirmatively and enthusiastically. [...They] have written a book that is timely and provocative, as well as firmly rooted in long-standing sociological traditions. Moreover, they dare us as sociologists to break free from tired conceptual dichotomies of macro versus micro."
Social Forces
Tim Hallett is Professor of Sociology at Indiana University Bloomington.
