Matryoshka Communities

Communities are defined as groups bound by some uniting factor or commonality. In that sense yes American University is a community just like DC is a community or on an even larger scale America is a community. This is however only the roughest definition of a community.

An enrollment, temporary residency, or citizenship doesn't make a community if that is all we have uniting us. When we looked at bonds in class, even home state was a stronger tie than American University student. It also exhibited an interesting phenomena that tends to go hand in hand with communities. Often we don't fully realize how connected to a community we are until we leave it. In my case, I had always assumed that I was fundamentally different from my southern peers when I lived there but once I left and was out of my culture it became apparent that a great deal of my personality and beliefs were shaped by the community I grew up in.

Common experience is such an important part of making a community that large communities break down into smaller ones. Explorations breaks down into New Jersey people and Not from Jersey.

It also must be taken into consideration that we are new to the American University community. Perhaps with time it will seem more tight knit than it currently does.