On belonging : finding connection in an age of isolation

Title:

On belonging : finding connection in an age of isolation

Author:

Samuel, Kim

ISBN:

9781419753039

Physical Description:

xviii, 286 pages ; 24 cm

Summary:

"What does it mean to belong? Today we're at an inflection point. Stress, disconnection, and increasing environmental degradation have people yearning for more than just material progress, legal liberty, or political stability. We are yearning for deeper connection. We are longing to belong. In On Belonging, Kim Samuel explores our current crisis and maps out four dimensions of belonging: in our relationships with other people, in our rootedness in nature, in our ability to influence political and economic decision-making, and in our finding of meaning and purpose in our lives. An expert on the subject and an advocate with strong international ties, Samuel introduces readers to innovators around the world who are cultivating belonging. Whether it's through sports, music, education, mental health, cultural traditions, or the environment, they are healing a rift and offer lessons in how every one of us can create a world where we feel at home."--

Subject:

Belonging (Social psychology)

Alienation (Social psychology)

Social integration.

Social isolation

Interpersonal relations

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Library	Collection	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Cobourg Branch	Searching... Unknown	Adult Non-Fiction Book	302.5 Sam	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

An exploration of the power of belonging in an age of social isolation, drawing on lessons from innovative leaders, individuals, and organizations to show how we can create lives and communities centered on human connectionWhat does it mean to belong? Today we're at an inflection point. Stress, disconnection, and increasing environmental degradation have people yearning for more than just material progress, legal liberty, or political stability. We are yearning for deeper connection. We are longing to belong. In On Belonging, Kim Samuel explores our current crisis and maps out four dimensions of belonging: in our relationships with other people, in our rootedness in nature, in our ability to influence political and economic decision-making, and in our finding of meaning and purpose in our lives. An expert on the subject and an advocate with strong international ties, Samuel introduces readers to innovators around the world who are cultivating belonging. Whether it's through sports, music, education, mental health, cultural traditions, or the environment, they are healing a rift and offer lessons in how every one of us can create a world where we feel at home.

Author Notes

Kim Samuel is an activist, educator, and movement builder. She is the founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness and an academic lecturer at institutions including Oxford, Harvard, and McGill Universities. Samuel was recently named visiting scholar at the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, University of Oxford and the first-ever Fulbright Canada ambassador for diversity and social connectedness. She lives in Toronto.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Samuel, the founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness, debuts with an innovative program for fostering community. She explores what it means to belong and argues that readers should strive to bring "principles of wholeness and connectedness into the realms of public policy, urban planning, education, healthcare, and community organizing." The author identifies people, place, power, and purpose as the "four dimensions of belonging" and interviews a Mi'kmaq elder in Canada who notes that having a sense of place nurtures a feeling of responsibility toward one's environment. Analyzing the theme of reciprocity in Wolfram von Eschenbach's medieval poem about Parzival and the Grail quest, Samuel outlines the "three core principles" of compassion: accepting difference in others, fostering connectedness with those different from oneself, and holding "everyone's life in high regard." She examines cultures that have successfully created a sense of belonging and details her trip to the Japanese village of Ōgimi, the residents of which live remarkably long and healthy lives while possessing "a strong sense of connectedness, rootedness in the natural world, self-reliance, and ongoing life purpose." The author's interviews with a diverse roster of interlocutors, including Syrian refugee Nujeen Mustafa and London architect Dominic Richards, offer captivating profiles of what connection and community look like in action and effectively model the kind of cross-cultural relationships she encourages readers to develop. This compassionate journalistic treatise on building more inclusive communities hits the mark. (Sept.)

Introduction	p. vii
Chapter 1 Patterns of Belonging	p. 1
Chapter 2 Understanding Social Isolation	p. 18
Chapter 3 The Shadow Side of Belonging	p. 40
Chapter 4 The Quest for Belonging	p. 58
Chapter 5 At Home within Ourselves	p. 79
Chapter 6 The True Value of Place	p. 100
Chapter 7 Designing the City of Imagination	p. 121
Chapter 8 Reciprocal Caregiving	p. 145
Chapter 9 Systems of Belonging	p. 167
Chapter 10 The Right to Belong	p. 192
Chapter 11 Belonging to a Shared Global Future	p. 213
In Gratitude	p. 243
Notes	p. 251
Index	p. 281

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Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Table of Contents