Communes in America, 1975-2000 / Timothy Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miller, Timothy, 1944- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Communal living--United States.

Communal living.

United States.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (278 pages)

Place of Publication:

Syracuse, New York : Syracuse University Press, [2019]

Summary:

Communes in America: 1975-2000 is the final volume in Miller's trilogy on the history of American intentional communities. Providing a comprehensive survey of communities during the last quarter of the twentieth century, Miller offers a detailed study of their character, scope, and evolution. Between 1975 and 2000, the American communal experience evolved dramatically in response to social and environmental challenges that confronted American society as a whole. Long-accepted social norms and institutions-family, religion, medicine, and politics-were questioned as the divorce rate increased, interest in spiritual teachings from Asia grew, and alternative medicine gained ground. Cohousing flourished as a response to an increasing sense of alienation and a need to balance community and private lives. At the same time, Americans became increasingly concerned with environmental protection and preservation of our limited resources. In the face of these social changes, communal living flourished as people sought out communities oflike-minded individuals to pursue a higher purpose.Organized topically, each chapter in the volume provides basic information about various types of communities and detailed examples of each type, from ecovillages and radical Christian communities to pagan communes and cohousing experiments. Miller also takes a step back to look at the prevalence of communal living in American life over the twentieth century. Based on exhaustive research, Miller's final volume provides an indispensable survey and guide to understanding utopianism's enduring presence in American culture.

Contents:

Preface: A century of American international communities

The century winds down, and communities thrive

Cohousing comes to America

The ecovillage revolution

The spiritual search I : Christian and Jewish communities

The spiritual search II : other religious communities

Communities on purpose

Communities in the media spotlight : crisis and controversy

Conclusion and afterword: Into the twenty-first century

Appendix A: A reflection on 400 years of American communes : Does communal activity come in waves? If so, when have they occurred?

Appendix B: American intentional communities, 1900-2000.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780815654766

0815654766