Exploring the Meanings of Community Among Summer Camp Staff

Abstract

This article describes an ethnographic study that explores the experiences of ‘community’ among staff who work in a summer camp and how those experiences are developed, interpreted and reinforced through the daily practices and routines that are a central part of the camp context. The main findings reported in this study show that the development of feelings of community at the camp was a product of an intentional effort undertaken by the staff and management and that this intentionality focused upon creating clear boundaries of inclusion that enabled the community to be clearly delineated. A second major finding of this study was that clarity of the community boundaries reinforced the gendered power relations that tempered the trust between staff. This study supports recent research that recognises that community is both beneficial and potentially costly to individuals who play a part in its development.

Keywords:

• Organised camping
• camp staff
• community
• symbolic meanings