Authority and Civil Society

Introduction

The Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH) sponsors a
long-term multi-year research project that promotes interdisciplinary
and multi-disciplinary investigation on civil society having to do with
authority in civil contexts.

Project Description

Although the notion of civil society has a long conceptual history
ranging from classical antiquity to the contemporary period - it is a
dynamic concept that is ever changing in its interpretation and
application.  The project responds to Martha Pipers' 2002 Killam
Lecture, "Building a Civil Society: A New Role for the Human Sciences"
that challenged humanists to reflect on matters of civil society.  
Piper argued that a civil society involves a vigorous citizenry engaged
in the culture and politics of a free society.  Further, she proposed
that essential features of a civil society involve how individuals
think about themselves, others, and the values of society.

The CIH project on ‘authority and civil society' works from the
observation that understandings of a civil society inevitably involve
matters of authority grounded in a collective understanding of a
community.  Authority is a product of ongoing efforts of communities to
define themselves.  It has to do with group identity that includes the
history of a society, as well as a vision of the future.  That is,
authority arises out of community consensus about values located in
community.  For this research initiative, civil society is understood
to be a public sphere - the civic life - that mediates the individual
and the formal state.

A common factor influencing different definitions of civil society,
and its significance, is authority based in political, social,
economic, and religious spheres.  Indeed, understandings of a civil
society inevitably involve a frame of reference that entails matters of
authority grounded in a collective understanding of a community.  This
project deals with the evolution of civil society and the role of authority in its development.