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Reflections on community studies
Author(s) -
Calvino Manuel
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6629(199805)26:3<253::aid-jcop6>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - objectivity (philosophy) , paternalism , field (mathematics) , ignorance , neutrality , sociology , epistemology , engineering ethics , environmental ethics , public relations , political science , law , engineering , philosophy , mathematics , pure mathematics
In this article, the author reflects on some of the limitations of the field of Community Psychology. The critical reflections offered focus on: (a) the sterile quality of the field's alternatives between offering paternalistic or utopian perspectives on how community processes operate; (b) the field's reliance on scientific objectivity and neutrality; (c) the field's ignorance of those who live in the community and the consequent presentation of “dismembered” communities; (d) the field's ahistorical and decontextualized treatment of community phenomena; and (e) the paradoxical nature of providing help to a community. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.