The class brought in images and quoutes that we felt represented community. The result is this collage. We combined everything from religious and cultural icons to representations of celebration and loss, family bonds and patriotism. There are also representations of artistic and business communities, along with representations of nature, commercialism, the military and other organizations.

We constantly represent our sense of community. As social creatures that have evolved in tribal societies, these expressions are essentially how we draw the line between who is with us and who is not. Who we feel we can rely on and who we would help over others is largely determined by our level of mutual recognition as group members. People represent their community allegiances in a wide variety of ways, from elaborate ritual and collective action to visual icons and personal expression.

Much of the way we present ourselves to the world can be related back to our own sense of community and how we choose to express it. Some of the ways we express community identity are so subtle that the may not be easily recognized, but that makes it no less powerful, because these representative actions in everyday life contribute substantially to the way we are perceived both from inside and outside our community boundaries.

There are of course blatant ways of expressing community. Every religious icon, national emblem, or recognizable style of dress can be a strong statement of community.As can songs, visual art, characteristic architecture, speech patterns, or eventhe way people physically carry themselves. There are multiple levels of community expression along with a vast array of possible communities to represent. Most people simultaneously consider themselves part of more than one community, and we must juggle our expressions so as to be recognized by all, yet excluded by none of our chosen communities.

Inour heterogeneous society, the notion that communities are defined by people’s perceptions and symbolic representations of their boundaries is particularly compelling. Our community members often do not share daily activities, backgrounds, or ethnic identities. But through our perceptions and representations, we cancreate a sense of community cohesion. It is through these representations that people’s collective perceptions of community are forged and maintained. Thiscan be on the scale of a subculture, a city or the country as a whole, but without outward expressions people would not be able to integrate their sense of community or identify their fellow community members. Representations are the means by which multiple individuals synch their perceptions together in a semi-congruous concept of community.

But simply by creating a community boundary, we are creating an inside and an outside. Communities must be defined against something else, and by being able to recognize boundaries and the members, we are also recognizing that there are those with whom we do not share that tie. Regognizing someone as an outsider conveys a sense that we would not share common ideas or goals with those on the other side of the represented boundary.

Although community expressions can divide people, they can also unify us. The aftermathof September 11th showed us that symbolic representations are not merely a representation of an strong existing community, but can also serve to create or support new boundaries. Certainly the flag waving, memorials, and sentimental patriotism that followed the terrorist attacks did not bring the nation together as a purely unified whole. However, it did give us a sense of the large scale community. Every foreign cab driver or Middle Eastern owned business that I saw after the attacks had a flag. It was a way of realigning their symbolic representation to be included in the whole of America. But as the symbols matured there message became more definedand so their appeal became less universal. As soon as the flag became associated with military retaliation, much of its unifying power was lost. The attacks helped highlight the significance of community representations. They are the means by which we form, define, and maintain our concept of community. While expressions may not be the only basis for community, they may very well be themost essential means of defining our communities and their edges.

Representations of community are defined in a number of ways, it can be seen as a boundary, place, or even an idea.  For our facilitation week, we asked our fellow colleagues to bring in a picture, symbol, or clippings of something that represents their community or a type of community that is seen all around.  One example was a picture of the Virgin Mary praying, this in itself represents a religious community; most likely of the Catholic community.  Others brought in a picture of a dancing gypsy or fashionable studs.  There were other examples of popular culture such as Billie Holiday and Marilyn Monroe.  We also saw that even types of architecture or structures can represent a particular community.  This was shown with examples of A mosque, Native American totems poles and a Norman Rockwell drawing of idyllic New York city in the 1950s.  Some brought in inspiring quotes and sayings that can be a literary representation of community.  Thus from this exercise, we all see that each of represents community not by just being in it but by a stronger notion.

"It is necessary to draw boundaries between communities to differentiate between the ranges of values within society. Representation of community is a way of stating those values for others to recognize and either identify with or reject."

 

"Individual identity is formed through reacting to symbols of community, whether being drawn to them, repulsed by them, or creating someplace in the middle. Through this process, symbolic boundaries may serve as a catalyst for personal identification within certain communities. "

"For those who "look like" terrorists, usually meaning Arabs or Arab-Americans, the boundaries may symbolize opression and danger, not safety, and a wall between them and the American "community"

"The putting up of flags and the expression “God Bless America” are also representational of the patriotic spirit and the unity in American spirit. People put up flags not only to show that they care about America but also to show that they want to do something to help America. More or less, there seems to be a unifying theme that brings people together and unite them: the theme oftragedy and loss."

These all are peices that represent different ways that I am tied to the community:

1.  Picture of my mother who died of ovarian cancer in spring 2000.  She was an amazing and wise person, who was an ever-present intellectual challenge.  She inspires me to make the world a better place.  (the force is with you, Luke, etc.)
2.  My ID badge for volunteering at the UW medical center.   I must constantly battle my passivity and tendancy to back out of action. The badge represents individual action that I can be proud of.
3.  Jazz festival leaflet, that shows a concert that blew my mind.  Saw the jazz community in Seattle drag themselves out of their holes to see the legendary Kieth Jarret.

"If a community wishes to have a large and diverse population, however, the diversity of points-of-veiwmust be taken into account while creating, expressing, and manipluationg representations of community in order to maintain a sense of community in which members feel secure and welcome."