Umass Amherst History Department

An exploration of efforts to create intentional communities based on participants' visions of just and harmonious social relationships. Often described as “utopian,” these movements have focused on realizing transformative visions on a small scale in the “here and now,” and were envisioned by participants as an opportunity to live rightly even within a larger oppressive society. Recognizing the complicated social realities in which such movements have been embedded, this event places practitioners and scholars in critical conversation about the movements' premises, challenges, contradictions, blind spots, impacts, and transformative potentials. Panelists include Ousmane Power-Greene (Clark University and the David Ruggles Center), Lior Libman (Binghamton University), Jasmine Burems (Wildseed Community Farm and Healing Village), and Kate Daloz (Columbia University, author of We Are As Gods). Includes discussion of abolitionist, socialist-Zionist, anti-racist, queer/trans, and back-to-the-land movements. Note: