I noticed that the Americans refered to service often as a factor of community. Community service is really stressed as a way to give back to our community. Is community service a large part of your young lives? A lot of groups and extracurricular activities focus on service here.

Community is a very large issue at MIT currently, because it is very much based in living groups (dormitories, fraternities, and independent groups). Are communities at INT based more on academic subjects and interests?

The word 'brotherhood' was repeated many times in the French responses. Brotherhood is also a part of your national saying 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity'. By brotherhood do you mean cooperation, working together as a group? Is there such a sense of brotherhood in French communities?

It seems to me that the French identify community with a group, with something they're part of, while the Americans regard it as an obligation, as something that is important and you have to do for the others - community service, extracurricular activities, building, working. What do you think - is this a real difference between the two cultures?

Il y a une notion qui n'apparaît pas chez les Américains, c'est celle du danger de la communauté, associé en particulier aux sectes. Ici, les sectes sont un problème de société pris très au sérieux et redouté. N'y prêtez-vous plus attention ? Comment abordez-vous le sujet de la scientologie (cf. Tom Cruise) par exemple ? La justice française reste sur ses gardes, notament à cause du problème que les enfants dans les sectes posent.

Quand des gens se regroupent pour parler de choses qui les intéressent ou pour partager des activités,etc on parle en France plutôt de groupes que de "communautés". A l'INT, ce phénomène est aussi très important, et il apparait sous la forme d'associations et de clubs. Par exemple, on parlera de l'association des élèves (i.e. le BDE : Bureau Des Elèves) ou du club théâtre. A la rigueur, on pourrait dire que les élèves de l'INT appartiennent à une communauté, mais je pense qu'en français, le mot communauté s'appliquerait plutôt à une "communauté religieuse". En fait, je pense que le mot communauté ne s'utilise pas autant qu'aux US...

I agree that community in France is nothing like the community here in the US. When we think of community, we don't think of neighborhoods, for example, unless stated. We usually think of something specific involving service as someone stated earlier. Why the difference in definition? Can a "community" in France ever be seen as a small gathering of people devoted to one thing?

Amelie, I did not understand what you were explaining about the sects, and how they represent a danger for the community. Can you explain a little bit further what you were trying to say?