Introduction

The concept of community is certainly one of the most frequently discussed terms in the social and behavioral literature. At first glance it might call up images of comfortable houses surrounded by well-tended lawns and children playing ball in the local park. Or it might call up harsher images of decaying houses jammed with low income families. Sociologists who specialize in activities such as evaluating social welfare or health programs, or who are employed in a variety of policy-oriented consulting firms are more apt to label themselves applied sociologists. One of the newer terms used as an umbrella concept to capture this multiplicity of roles is sociological practice. Sociologists of knowledge are concerned with the development of systems of thought in relationship to the material and cultural context of that thought. As a unified system of thought was able to find expression throughout culture, it gained ideological dominance, that is, cultural hegemony.