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Community & Social Capital

Community & social capital. Laurie Taylor considers the claim that we have moved from an individualistic 'I' society to a more communitarian 'We' society and back again.

Community & social capital. Laurie Taylor talks to Robert D Putnam, Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and co-author of a new study which revisits some of the themes of 'Bowling Alone' his 20 year old, groundbreaking book, which argued that Americans were losing their connections with one another. His latest research takes a look at trends over the last century which have brought us from an 鈥淚鈥 society to a 鈥淲e鈥 society and then back again. What lessons can be drawn from the past, especially at a time of increased economic inequality, political polarisation and loss of social capital and trust, all of which are playing out against the backdrop of a global pandemic? Is it, as he suggests, time for an 'upswing', more focused on our responsibilities to each other and one which, for the first time, must properly account for the way in which racism has shaped America?

They鈥檙e joined by Emily Falconer, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Westminster, who considers the extent to which Robert Putnam's arguments apply to the UK. She also discusses her own research, which focuses on collective singing as a manifestation of social capital and community, in action. Her study of an Online Zoom community choir - at a time when so many face-to-face activity have disappeared - suggests that virtual, group singing has afforded deep connections between people in a landscape in which the future of social gatherings remains uncertain.

Producer: Jayne Egerton

Produced in partnership with The Open University

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29 minutes

Last on

Mon 12 Apr 2021 00:15

Guests and Further Reading

The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again (Simon and Schuster) by Robert D Putnam, with Shaylyn Romney Garrett



Broadcasts

  • Wed 7 Apr 2021 16:00
  • Mon 12 Apr 2021 00:15

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大象传媒 Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with The Open University

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