Colleges and their communities

Community is a word frequently used in both academic discourse and everyday language, yet it is also a nebulous, problematical and contested concept. Hillery (1955), a sociologist, in his attempt to define community discovered ninety-four definitions. Bauman, in his recent book Community: Seeking Safety in an Insecure World reminds us that:

Words have meanings: some words, however, also have a ‘feel’. The word ‘community’ is one of them. It feels good: whatever the word ‘community’ may mean, it is good ‘to have a community’, ‘to be in community’.