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54 pages 1 hour read

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2000

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Essay Topics

1.

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?

2.

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?

3.

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?

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