presenting in iowa

hi friends,

the weekend before last, i trekked over to north-western iowa to present at the national conference of the communal studies association.

i was hosted by a lovely older couple who lived near by; my travel and registration were paid for by a scholarship award; and the community residents baked us dozens of homemade cakes. true midwestern hospitality!

My talk focused on how intentional communities overlap with the policy world: on a conceptual level, and on a concrete one, how do they interact?

• How do intentional communities influence local policy?

• How can local policymakers and intentional communities have a more mutually beneficial relationship?

I met lots of really interesting scholars from universities across the country. It was especially interesting to hear about various little-known religious ‘cults’ from america’s history, and to think about how that relates to the more contemporary, agnostic communities I interact with.

the conference had a more historical, and more academic, focus than the community-related conferences I’ve spoken at so far, which was an interesting lens.

The conference was hosted in the historic (and still active church) of the Amana Colonies, a group of seven communal villages built by German Pietists in 1855. It was cool (although at times not the most comfortable) to sit on hand-made wooden benches, to think about the long and complicated relationship between intentional communities’ history and that of american colonization in westward expansion — in the case of the amana colonies, a pioneering moment in intentional, communal living in iowa also meant the purchase and takeover of thousands of acres of indigenous lands.

since my research focus has always been more contemporary, not just thinking about, but embodying this complicated history, as a coastal, urban researcher flown in to give a paid lecture in a former colonial site.

overall though, i was really warmed by the hospitality there & all the great people i met! if you’re reading this and affiliated with the CSA, all my thanks for a great event!

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much love,

jasper