54 pages • 1 hour read
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community
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Essay Topics
What evidence does Putnam use to make the case that social capital has declined in the last third of the 20th century? How convincing is his case? Are there any weaknesses or exceptions?
What are Putnam’s concerns and hopes for the Internet, as he writes at the dawn of this medium’s era? Given the state of the Internet and online culture in the early 2020s, how accurate were Putnam’s concerns and/or hopes?
Compare and contrast the old and new types of civic organizations. Why are the latter poor in social capital? While the old forms contributed to social capital, did they have any drawbacks?
Did ideology or political philosophy play any role during the 1980s and 1990s in increasing individual isolation and decreasing community engagement? Does Putnam give that factor adequate consideration?
Why, despite rising levels of education, do Baby Boomers and Generation X have lower levels of civic and social engagement than the long civic generation? Are Putnam’s explanations about electronic entertainment and generational experiences adequate? Why or why not?
Why does Putnam assign television considerable blame for the decline in social capital? What was so different about that medium?
Why is social capital correlated so strongly with physical and psychological health? Is its decline a factor in the rising numbers of mass shootings and violent crime in the late 20th and early 21st centuries? Why or why not?
Why is social capital so critical for a functioning democracy? What happens to democracy when it declines significantly?
How good of an analogy is the Progressive era to the late 20th century? Evaluate the similarities and dissimilarities.
Were any, some, or all of Putnam’s goals for 2010 reached? If not, what types of changes are needed? Should other goals be established?
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