UTOPIAN COMMUNITIES
	"The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe? Why should not we have a poetry of insight and not of tradition, and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs. Embosomed for a season in nature…why should we grope among the dry bones of the past? The sun shines today also…There are new lands, new men, new thoughts. Let us demand our own works and laws and worship." --Ralph Waldo Emerson, The American Scholar
	With this speech, given at Harvard, Ralph Waldo Emerson calls for a new national vision, based upon personal experience and the unique contact Americans have had with Nature and the frontier, and not from books or European examples.  In some ways, the growth of Utopian communities in 18th and 19th century in America is reflected in the above sentiment.
TASK: Your task is to identify, within one of these utopian communities, these three essential Transcendentalist principles—Nature as Inspirations, individuality and self-reliance, and a preoccupation with the charismatic leader.  Get into groups of three individuals and create a self-running, multimedia presentation that will feature one Utopian community and how one of these Transcendental principles applies.  For example, show how Nature is the inspiration for Brook Farm, or how Mother Ann Lee  is a charismatic leader in the Shaker community.
1.	Nature as Inspiration: Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists believed that the fundamental truths of being and the universe can be grasped only through intuition in moments of mystic enthusiasm.  Nature was the trigger for intuition and mystical enthusiasm because it was where a person could be easily acquainted with the hand of God.
2.	Individuality and Self-Reliance:  Emerson argued that the creative spirit must be committed to novelty and change.  This ideal evolved into a philosophy of relentless perfectionism. Transcendentalism began in 1848 as a protest against the general state of culture and society.   In The American Scholar,  a speech Emerson gave at Harvard, he declared literary independence in the United States and urged Americans to create a writing style all their own and free from Europe.  In fact Emerson called upon Americans to reexamine all cultural legacies from Europe and create a new American culture and identity
3.	Charismatic Leader: Emerson possessed a deep faith in human potential, believing that all beings were united through a shared universal soul joined in mystic enthusiasm. Like many Romantics, Emerson was fascinated by the visionary, the exceptional figure, such as the Minutemen, those embattled farmers who stood and “fired the shot heard round the world.” Likewise, many members of these Utopian communities came to view their charismatic leader as the embodiment of their collective religious experience, the best embodiment of their own mystical enthusiasm and relentless perfectionism.
PLEASE FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS:
1.	Choose one of the following 18th century utopian communities and show how one of the above three principles can be found to be characteristic of that community.
	a. Brook Farm
	b. Oneida Community (the Perfectionists)
	c. The Rappites and Separatists
	d. Robert Owen and The New Harmony Society
	e. Zoar in Ohio
	f. Amana Colony in Iowa
	g. Ephrata Cloister in Pennsylvania
Get to know the individual community.
2.	INQUIRY QUESTIONS
	a. Why were the communities founded?
	b. Who founded the communities?
	c. Were there any unique characteristics to the communities?
	d. Explain the failure of the 19th century community you selected.
	e. Is community life difficult? Will The Farm be able to continue indefinitely?
	f. Was the other modern commune you looked also a "hippie" community? Why did it come into existence?
3.	Lastly, in order to understand the communities in depth, compare the "The Farm" to one of the other modern communes found at UTOPIA ON THE WEB.However, remember that you will not be comparing modern communities in your final paper. You will be comparing an older utopia with one of these modern utopias, or intentional communities. But you must consider the similarities that exist today and then consider if any of these essential qualities existed in the past. How are these qualities defined in the American Identity?
	You will find a good listing of existing utopian communities on this site.
General Resources:
	The Great Awakening and Revivalism in America Romanticism: Artist, Movements, Ideas American Transcendentalism Web Transcendentalism-Authors The Transcendentalists Concord Massachussetts The Symbolic Invention of America-as-Utopia Utopias in America Utopian Socialism--Period: 1820-1860 Utopias in America Utopian Socialism Heaven on Earth: the Rise and Fall of Socialism Artists/ Movements and Ideas: Utopias WWW Resources on Alternative and Utopian Communities
Writers and Artists that support or are sympathetic to the ideals of these Utopian communities.
	Emerson's Texts: from Emerson Central The Ralph Waldo Emerson Organization Thoreau Reader: Walden Walden Etext: University of Virginia Walden: Analysis and Notes The Walden Express: Reviews and brief excerpts-just in case you don't want to read the whole book Thoreau Reader: A project in cooperation with the Thoreau Society Civil Disobedience Walden: Study Web Walden Pond Exhibit "Civil Disobedience" Thoreau, Henry David - Thoreau Links The Hudson River School— Nature: “As Thomas Cole maintained, if nature were untouched by the hand of man--as was much of the primeval American landscape in the early 19th century--then man could become more easily acquainted with the hand of God.”
Common Characteristics of these 19th Century Communities:
	Most have a much higher degree of teamwork, sharing responsibilities and resources. Some communities are secular; others have a spiritual basis or are part of the alternative society, such as eco-friendly living. Commonly there is a focus on egalitarian values, voluntary simplicity and self-reliance.
A Closer Look At Individual Utopian Communities
	Brook Farm Brook Farm Community Brook Farm Historical Site Brook Farm History Description of Brook Farm Brook Farm: Encyclopedia The Shakers: Rituals and Songs Simple Gifts—Shaker Song Hancock Shaker Village Shaker Workshops The Shakers: Mother Ann Lee (The Official Summary of Shaker Doctrines, primary documents) The Shakers on PBS The Shaker Historical Trail Ephrata Cloister The Oneida Community The Oneida Community: New York History Net The Rappites and Separatists American Women's History: A Research Guide The Amana Community Utopias in America: The Amana Colonies
A Closer Look at Brook Farm
	In a letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson of November 1840 concerning plans for organizing a socially utopian community to be called Brook Farm Ripley wrote:-
	"Our objects as you know, are to insure a more natural union between intellectual and manual labor ... guarantee the highest mental freedom, by providing all with labor, adapted to their tastes and talents, and securing to them the fruits of their industry ... thus to prepare a society of liberal, intelligent, and cultivated persons, whose relations with each other would permit a more simple and wholesome life, than can be led amidst the pressures of our competitive institutions."
	Google Books: Brook Farm Significance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Download Course Syllabi

• American Studies
• Process of Composition
• Introduction to Short Fiction
• English III