This chapter introduces the concept of community, which alongside ecology and performance is one of three theoretical contexts for this book. It recognizes the complexity of the term “community” and contested understandings of what it means. It begins by establishing connection, difference, boundaries, and development as four key dynamics of community. It then looks at classic understandings of community including Ferdinand Tönnies’ Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft; Émile Durkheim’s mechanical and organic solidarity, and collective representation; and Alexis de Tocqueville’s recognition of associations in America. Then it considers twentieth-century theories including those of John Dewey, Robert Nisbet, Timothy Carney, and Robert Putnam, acknowledging the perception of a loss of community in part caused by feelings of alienation. It finally turns to Social Network Theory to consider community lost, community saved, and community liberated.