1 TOPICS OF DISCUSSION Class Business Defining Rural, Suburban, Urban Gemeinschaft and Gessellschaft Typology Assignment Exercise 3

2 Factors to Consider in Defining Areas Sociologically Population size Proximity to a central place Population density Economic/Socioeconomic factors Cultural identity

3 Tonnies Ferdinand Tonnies ( ) was appalled by the rise of an industrial city in his native Germany during the late 1800s. In his view, this city marked a dramatic change from the “ideal type” of a close-knit community, which Tonnies termed Gemeinschaft, to that of an impersonal mass society known as Gesellschaft.

4 Comparison of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft Gemeinschaft 1. Rural life typifies this form 2. People share a feeling of community that results from their similar backgrounds and life experiences (high degree of shared significant symbols-a word, gesture, or other learned sign used to convey a meaning from one person to another. ) Gesellschaft 1. Urban life typifies this form 2. People perceive little sense of commonality. Their differences in background appear more striking than their similarities

5 Comparison of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft Gemeinschaft 3. Social Interactions, including negotiations are intimate and familiar (often with members of primary groups- characterized by face-to-face contact and strong ties among members.) 4. There is a spirit of cooperation and unity of will Gesellschaft 3. Social interactions, including negotiations, are more likely to be task-specific 4. Self interest dominates

6 Gemeinschaft 5. Tasks and personal relationships cannot be separated 6. There is little emphasis on individual privacy 7. Informal social control predominates Gesellschaft 5. The task being performed is paramount; relationships are subordinate 6. Privacy is valued 7. Formal social control is evident

7 Gemeinschaft 8. There is less tolerance of deviance 9. Emphasis is on ascribed statuses 10. Social change is relatively limited Gesellschaft 8. There is greater tolerance of deviance 9. There is more emphasis on achieved statuses 10. Social change is very evident-even within a generation

U.S. Census Bureau Look up your community and copy the data from the census 8