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Out of Place, In Place: American Utopian Communities and Their Environments, 1830-1890
The number and prominence of utopian communities in America grew during the middle of the nineteenth century. The founders and members of the communities had ideas about the alternative ways of life, and those ideas necessitated living apart from the rest of the country. I hope to explore the ways the members of these communities interacted with and thought about the natural environments where they chose to live. The following historical questions will direct my research. What ideas did members of utopian communities have about their natural environments and their relationships with those environments? What role did ideals of “living close to the land” play in the formation of these communities? How did members of utopian communities practically interact with their environments? Are there any tensions between the ways members of utopian communities thought about and practically lived in their environments? If so, what were those tensions between thinking and living? I expect to use diaries, letters, and periodicals as primary sources for my paper. These sources will give insight into the daily lives of community members as well as insight into their ideas about the communities.