Group Life - An Invitation to Local Sociology

Sociological analysis must consider the role of small communities in creating interaction order and structural realities, with Fine and Hallett's book providing new models of identity, culture, conflict, and control. It emphasizes the importance of a meso-level approach to social organization and calls for a local sociology that includes sociality.

Format: Hardback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 07 October 2022
Publisher: Polity Press

Sociological analysis is filled with debates about "micro" and "macro," individual and society, but these often 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 argue that sociologists have the obligation to examine the role of small communities in the creation of both the interaction order and structural realities. In their book, they provide novel concepts and rich ethnographic examples to demonstrate how group commitments shape selves and society, emphasizing the importance of a meso-level approach to social organization. Fine and Hallett introduce 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 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.

Weight: 400g
Dimension: 217 x 144 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509554133