Sociologist

Community sociology

Often grouped with urban and rural sociology is that of community sociology, or the sociology of community. Taking various communities—including online communities—as the unit of analysis, community sociologists study the origin and effects of different associations of people. For instance, German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies distinguished between two types of human association: gemeinschaft (usually translated as "community") and gesellschaft ("society" or "association"). In his 1887 work, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Tönnies argued that Gemeinschaft is perceived as a tighter, more cohesive social entity due to the presence of a "unity of will". The 'development' or 'health' of a community is also a central concern of community sociologists, who also engage in development sociology, exemplified by the literature surrounding the concept of social capital.