I always have problems finding arguments to support my use of a word too, one thing that I do is to mine perseus for references in ancient greek and latin www.perseus.tufts.edu I think it was Heidegger that said something similar to "the only languages capable of distinguishing to the extent to maintain philosophy are ancient greek and german". Since the problem with concepts like "community" is that the concept is poorly defined, perhaps it is time to make distinctions of types and use the less general words as appropriate. For instance, i thought of this in part to respond to danah because I was just doing some work with Augustine who used the term Locus Communus to denote a common or shared location in a text, and that there are textual communities that surround commonplaces in texts. So, i thought I'd push her 1400's back about 1000 years to see if that helps, then i thought hey, lets go another 1500 and see what I can dig up from ancient greek. anway, hope this helps to make some distinctions, I did not pull everything from perseus, there is still quite a bit left for digging. i find the following references in the ancient greek and latin corpus helpful: *a political/property/spacial community: dêmosios*, Dor. da_m-, a, on (os, on Hp. ( v. infr. <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/lexindex?lang=greek&display=&lookup=dhmo/sios>)), /belonging to the people/ or /state,/ kteana Xenoph.2.8; tad. Hdt. 5.29 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Hdt.+5.29&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>, Aristoph. Wasps 554 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aristoph.+Wasps+554&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>; d. chrêmata Cratin.171 ; ploutos Thuc. 1.80 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Thuc.+1.80&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>; chôra, opp. hiera, idia, Aristot. Pol. 1267b34 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aristot.+Pol.+1267b34&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>; hê d. trapeza IG22.1013 ; ta hiera ta d., opp. idiôtika, SIG1015.9 (Halic.); agônes, dikai, Aeschin. 1.2 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aeschin.+1.2&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>, Aristot. Pol. 1320a12 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aristot.+Pol.+1320a12&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>; d. logos, = Lat. /fiscus/, BGU193.27, OGI1669.21 ; dêmosion einai, gignesthai, to be, become /state-property,/ be / confiscated,/ Thuc. 2.13 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Thuc.+2.13&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>, IG22.1100.40 (Hadr. ), Plat. Laws 742b <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plat.+Laws+742b&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>, etc.; gên d. poiein Lys. 18.14 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Lys.+18.14&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>. *b.*/used by the public,/ balaneia, loutron, Plb. 26.1.12, Hdn.1.12.4. *2.*/common,/ dêmosiôtatos tropos, topos, Arist./ Top./162a35, ti=Arist./SE/ 165a5; dêmosios kakiê /epidemic,/Hp./Ep./ 19 (ti=Hp./Hermes/53.67 ). a communty of types: *phu_lê*, hê, (phuô) prop., like phulon <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/lexindex?lang=greek&display=&lookup=fu%3Dlon>, /a race, tribe;/ but acc. to Dicaearch.Hist. 9/a union formed in an organized community/ (whether polis or ethnos): hence, /tribe,/ i.e. a social community: *koinotês*, êtos, hê, /sharing in common, community/, tôn gunaikôn kai paidôn kai tês ousias Aristot. Pol. 1274b10 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aristot.+Pol.+1274b10&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>; hê peri ta tekna k. kai tas gunaikas IBID=au= Aristot. Pol. 1266a34 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Aristot.+Pol.+1266a34&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>; k. phônês /common/ language, i.e. not peculiar or dialectal, Isoc. 15.296 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Isoc.+15.296&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>, cf. D.H./Th./54, ti= D.H./Pomp./2. *2.*/common/ or /universal quality/, Plat. Theaet. 208d <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plat.+Theaet.+208d&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>, Plot.1.3.4; opp. idiotês, Epicur./Ep./1p.17U.; k. tou hippou A.D./Pron./26.20: pl., /common features/, Phld./Ir./p.71 W., ti= Phld./Mort./34, Plu./Comp.Lyc.Num./ 1; esp.in Medicine, term of the 'Methodic' school, Gal. 1.80, al., cf. Plu.2.129d (pl.). *3.*/generality, vagueness/, tôn homologiôn D.H. 2.39, etc.; /ambiguity/, onomatos Epicur./ Nat./14.10, cf.Demetr.Lac.Herc. 1014.48, Diog.Oen.27. *II.* in Politics, /absence of privileges/ or /distinctions/ , politeias (sc. dêmokratias) hê malista koinotêta dokei proêirêsthai Andoc. 4.13 <http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Andoc.+4.13&vers=original&lang=greek&display=>. There are several other possibly ways to approach this of course, but this tool is helpful I think because it helps to show the distinctions between concepts that could be made. There are also other words and definitions that may be a more appropriate definition for instance a homogeneus group could be a community, but is usually a different concept, etc. -- jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com virginia tech -under construction blacksburg, va 24061 540-231-7614