Community Building

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments This book occurred because of an idea to collaborate around a critical societal issue that was growing in national and international signi ficance—community and community building. In 1999 the School of American Research, long noted for its commitment to scholarship, and the Society for Applied Anthropology, long noted for its commitment to addressing human problems through scholarship, began a longstanding relationship. More specifically, Douglas Schwartz, then president of the School of American Research, and Linda Bennett, then president of the Society for Applied Anthropology, and Tom May, executive director, saw an opportunity to return to a question that, historically , was held deeply but was also generating much interdisciplinary and policy debate in forging a path to resolving conflicts brought about by global structural inequalities, scarce resources, and ethnocentrism. Research on the topics of community and community building had grown exponentially in the preceding decade—so much so that scholars and practitioners were talking past each other. Their wisdom to grapple with a rethinking of the growing literature and its applications led them to invite a group of engaged scholars involved in community development work over the past three decades to begin this task. The work of these scholars over a three-year period has been challenging. Each brought a different focus and set of methods to the table. Each challenged the others’ frameworks. Each worked diligently in light of the others’ scholarship. Along the way, several distinguished scholars were brought into the mix. I would like to acknowledge Mary Catherine Bateson for her invocation at the 2001 xi SfAA meetings in Merida and her emphasis on communities of inclusion and diversity and, similarly, Jodi Kretzmann for his forceful articulation of the processes of community building through the mapping of community assets. Equally important has been the facilitation provided by Nancy Owens Lewis and Linda Bennett, as well as the critical feedback by the SAR/SfAA reviewers and the SAR Press editor, Catherine Cocks. I particularly want to acknowledge the assistance of Kristen Maurette, a graduate student, and my wife, Keife, who worked with me through every critical step of this effort. Stan Hyland ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xii ...