Social extremity, communities of fate, and the sociology of SARS

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

European Journal of Sociology = Archives Europeennes de Sociologie

Publication Date

8-2005

Volume

46

Issue

2

First Page

179

Last Page

211

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Abstract

This article identifies the chief factors which transform a group of people into a “community of fate”. A community of fate refers to a temporary form of existence, born of duress and social emergency, which cuts across familiar divisions to elicit something socially consequential. One such community materialized during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Hong Kong. It is examined here in detail together with a range of other crisis communities – from Montreal battling smallpox, to the captives of the Warsaw Ghetto.

DOI

10.1017/S000397560500007X

Print ISSN

00039756

E-ISSN

14740583

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2005 Archives Européenes de Sociology

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Baehr, P. (2005). Social extremity, communities of fate, and the sociology of SARS. European Journal of Sociology, 46(2), 179-211. doi: 10.1017/S000397560500007X

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