I’m reading Bonk, Wisher and Nigrelli in Karen’s book on communities of learners.

They take their definition of communities from McMillan and Chavis in 1986. M and C reckon there are for key elements to a sense of community:
membership – sense of belonging, community boundaries, identity and personal investment.
influence – influencing the community, being influenced by the community. Pressure for uniformity and conformity.
fulfillment of individual needs – provide rewards and reinforcers. These are critical to staying within the community.
shared events and emotional connections – from shared histories that connect members and encourage ongoing involvement. Hang on, though, doesn’t that imply that a community must have some history before it becomes a community? At what point, then, does the community form?

McMillan D.W. and Chavis D.M. (1986) Sense of community: A definition and theory Journal of Community Psychology 14 6-23

This seems to be a very positive sense of community – surely a community is also defined by what it is not – by the non-members as well as the members. Does it also have pressures to keep you in the community as well as rewards? Didn’t Foucault have something to say on this topic?