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EME5054 University of Florida November 4, 2011
 * //Bowling Alone// by Robert D. Putnam** A podcast review/analysis by Sara Souders Dagen

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"Robert Putnam's //Bowling Alone// is a ten-pin strike, a major contribution to sociology." -- Claude S. Fischer, University of California, Berkley "...it is an antitank gun of an argument, relentlessly researched and heavily armored against academic counterassault..." -- David Nyhan, //The Boston Globe//

Author: Robert D. Putnam
Author Robert D. Putnam is on a mission to rebuild our nation’s social capital with his Saguaro Seminar ([|http://www.hks.harvard.edu/saguaro)], and two websites, [|www.bowlingalone.com] and [|www.bettertogether.org].He is the Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University and has leading roles in numerous departments related to governance both at Harvard and abroad. He is a visiting professor at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. In addition to his teaching roles, Putnam has authored or coauthored more than a dozen books and even more scholarly articles.

While working on his book, //Bowling Alone//, which was published in 2000, Putnam had been developing--with his social network--the Saguaro Seminar, which had the initial aim to develop a "handful of far-reaching, actionable ideas to significantly increase Americans' connectedness to one another." Since 2000, the Saguaro Seminar’s mission “ has been to both to improve social capital measurement and the availability of social capital data, and to undertake analysis of building social capital in a changing environment -- in increasingly diverse communities, with changing faith communities, in workplaces, and amidst greater social and civic inequality" (The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America).

In other words, //Bowling Alone// isn't just Putnam's compelling message; it is part of who he is and what he actively pursues for the public good.

Sara Souders Dagen
Podcast producer Sara Souders Dagen is a graduate student at the University of Florida pursuing a degree in Educational Technology. She prefers hearing the sound of her voice as she hears it when talking to others--not as it sounds after she's recorded it. She admits that reading through the wealth of information included in Putnam's book took a lot of discipline (plus time, ink and pages of note-taking) but considers editing her initial script of fourteen minutes down to a mere five even more difficult--and a terrible injustice to Putnam's work. (If you are interested in the longer version, feel free to read it, but Putnam's book is a far worthier source of information.)

Podcast script:
In //Bowling Alone//, author Robert D. Putnam, a Harvard professor of public policy, shares a view of the withering civic and social life in American communities, evident in the last several decades. S//ocial capital// refers to connections among individuals—including how much residents trust one another, join organizations, volunteer their time, vote, and socialize. Being well-connected can help you find a job or a helping hand. But social networks also play a part in the greater good.

It was while he was researching government in Italy in 1992 that Putnam concluded that democracy depended on social capital. Thus began his long-term study on the impact of social capital on America. One colleague mentioned that the trends in league bowling seemed to fit Putnam’s evolving generalization. Another said that Americans seemed to be “bowling alone,” and a title was born.

A title, I would add, that initially headed an essay on the topic and was meant to accompany a “thin volume on this topic” that became this more than 400-page tome in the year 2000 (p. 506). The preliminary essay in January 1995 brought Putnam to the forefront, garnering a visit to Camp David and scores of talk shows. The applause and critiques gave impetus for further research. I find his resulting book worthy of five stars for its thorough research, its relevance to both the time of its writing and now, and its readability, even though it is not a book for the casual reader. Broadly and deeply researched and thoroughly documented, Putnam’s //Bowling Alone// seems a calm, matter-of-fact, filled-with-evidence treatise, but the resulting—revealing—pages stir the soul and truly are a call to action. His words resonate with my own experience in this culture.

Within his book, Putnam discusses the trends in civic engagement and social capital—most of which is a dismal report of decline in these United States. Voter turnout is low. Civic, religious, and workplace connections have decreased. We play cards less often, host fewer parties, rarely eat dinner together, and skip visiting our neighbors. We watch episodes of “Friends” rather than make friends.

The reasons behind this decline, Putnam finds, include the pressures of time and money, mobility and sprawl, technology and mass media, and changes from generation to generation. Of those, television has had one of the largest impacts.

The television has permeated our culture at a rapid rate. In 1950, 10 percent of American homes had //a// TV. By 1959, 90 percent of homes did. One TV set grew to multiple sets within each home, and per capita viewing hours grew. Add the ability to watch videos and play games, and TV has become one of the largest reasons Americans stay home—instead of being socially and civicly engaged.

The Internet’s impact, however, is still unknown, though it is sure to be widespread. The telephone took nearly seven decades to reach seventy-five percent of the market; the Internet took seven years. If social capital is about networks, then the Internet is the “network to end all networks" (p. 171). It is a powerful tool for transmitting information. People connect due to shared interests rather than just locale. Race, age, gender, and appearance do not matter.

Quite frankly, the Internet has the ability to be a niftier telephone (a complement to communication) or a niftier television (a social isolator).

“The most important question is not what the Internet will do to us but we will do with it,” says Putnam (p. 180).

Social capital is important. The more residents trust one another, join organizations, volunteer time, vote, and socialize—the better it is for all of us.

High social capital is good for our children, our economic prosperity, and our health and well-being.

“As a general rule of thumb,” says Putnam. “If you belong to no groups but decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half" (p. 331).

Unfortunately, Americans are generally not joining and upping their social capital.

At the end of the nineteenth century, our country also experienced a period of technological, economic, and social change that rendered obsolete its store of social capital. Those who came to the rescue did so, not by yearning for the less-complicated past but by embracing the promise of technological advance and unparalleled prosperity—yet seeking a return to a sense of connectedness. In short: they built social capital and America experienced a civic renovation.

Putnam’s message is that “we desperately need an era of civic inventiveness” today to reconnect Americans and build social capital—and our country (p. 401). His message is not only a call to action for us—but a motivation for himself and the numerous others who have taken his cause to heart. He is actively building social capital, evident through his various websites to that effect.

Perhaps the Internet and other technologies will prove to be part of the “civic inventiveness” that reconnects America. Bowling together is one way to connect. //Bowling Alone// is an effective call to do so.

Of additional interest:
The Internet and Civic Engagement | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. (n.d.). //Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project //. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2009/The-Internet-and-Civic-Engagement.aspx

This article explaining the results of a Pew Research study demonstrates that while the Internet is not changing the fundamental social-economic character of social engagement (where the wealthy and well-education lead in participation), it is noticing a change brought about by the use of blogs and social network sites. Almost 20 percent of Internet users posted online about political or social issues, and these users are mostly young people, who typically do not engage civicly. Of those involved online, 61 percent have signed a petition, 56 percent are members of a civic or political group, 50 percent have contact a government official directly, and 81 percent have contributed to a charity online. Mr. Putnam would be happy.

Social Isolation and New Technology | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. (n.d.). //Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project //. Retrieved November 10, 2011, from http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2009/Social-Isolation-and-New-Technology.aspx

This article explaining the results of a Pew Research study shows that people who use the Internet and mobile phones have larger, more diverse social networks and less isolation. The Pew surveys considered "discussion networks" -- those with whom you would discuss important matters -- as it conducted its research. The size of discussion networks were 12 percent larger for those who use mobile phones, 9 percent larger for those who share photos online, and 9 percent larger for those who use instant messaging. Those who used mobile phones had a more diverse social network -- by 25 percent. Using the Internet at a basic level increase diversity by 15 percent. And those who frequent the Internet, use instant messaging, and share photos online had an even more diverse social network. The more technology used in communication, the less isolated the people, according to the study.


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