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Assimilation and Localism: Some Very Small Towns in Mass Society
Author(s) -
Donner William W.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1998.tb00454.x
Subject(s) - localism , modernization theory , sociology , theme (computing) , economic geography , identity (music) , political economy , political science , law , geography , physics , politics , computer science , acoustics , operating system
A major theme in social theory concerns the transformation of social relationships in small communities as a result of modernization. This paper examines changing social relations in some small towns in southeastern Pennsylvania. For several hundred years, the residents of these towns have continuously developed institutions to preserve their local identity and maintain personal relations at the same time that they are incorporated into larger, regional social systems. The same local institutions and relations, however, are replicated in each small town, suggesting that local and particular interests are expressed through regional institutions. Although focused on a few small towns in one region of the United States, this paper examines the local expression of processes which are global.