Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Political Science

Faculty/School

Faculty of Arts

First Advisor

Not applicable

Advisor Role

Not applicable

Abstract

The study of communities and the concept of communitarianism have occupied the thoughts and works of many of the foremost social scientists of our time. However, societal integration through ties to clan and family lie on the other side of the Industrial Revolution and our own contemporary mass society calls for ever increasing liberation of the individual from his primary allegiances. Liberal individualism orients man away from any commitment other than to that of self fulfillment, accomplished more often than not through material ends. Thus we find that the study of communitarianism has grown out of a disenchantment with individualism. The usual methods of approach involve either the examination of contemporary attempts to create community, such as the commune movement, or of traditional communities now extinct. An alternative lies in the examination of traditional communities which continue to exist today. The Schlagende Verbindungen is such a grouping of communities. Their history can be traced to the early European medieval universities and their adherence to communitarian ideals continues to be evident even today. Their main function is that of maintaining and extending a community of integrated members, voluntarily bound to aid and assist one another for life through their fraternal affiliation. Thus these student organizations serve as an excellent example for the study of a traditional community seeking to fulfill the needs of its members and to give them the necessary primary group relationships which are predominantly absent in contemporary society.

The prime purpose of this thesis is to examine the Schlagende Verbindungen with special reference to their integration and communitarian functions.

Convocation Year

1975

Convocation Season

Spring

Download

Share

COinS