Bucknell University
Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Foun 090
K. Faull-Eze
MWF 10-11
Larison 130
Living in Community
Experiments in Social Organization
Textbook
Yaacov Oved, Two Hundred Years of American Communes (New Brunswick:
Transaction, 1993)
Objective of the Seminar
The objective of the seminar is twofold: to introduce students to the study
of communal societies across historical
periods and to build up a database of models for communal living. In this
process the students will learn to use library resources efficiently, develop
writing and analytical skills, compile bibliographies, and present collected
materials to the seminar in a clear and concise fashion.
Course Description
From the very beginning of its European settlement, North America provided
radical thinkers in Europe with the opportunity to realize their dreams
of a society based on principles which differed radically with those of
the dominant culture. Many intentional communities were started in Pennsylvania
and New York State, the best known of which today are the Ephrata Cloister,
the Oneida Perfectionists, Old Harmony, Moravian Bethlehem, the Hutterian
Brethren, and the Shakers. In this seminar we will examine the various religious
and sectarian backgrounds of these movements, investigate the communal structures
of each group, explore the various cultural phenomena attached to the group
(e.g. music, architecture, literature), and attempt to construct our own
model for an intentional community. The methodological approach of the course
is interdisciplinary, spanning the fields of German-American studies, history,
religion, political science, sociology, and anthropology. The seminar is
constructed along two axes: one diachronic, examining the communal society
through history; the other synchronic, examining in detail each community
and its various cultural manifestations.
Method of Instruction and Evaluation
The seminar will work as a collective with each member being responsible
to the group for the development of our common knowledge of the subject
matter. Members of the seminar will present and analyze information on each
of the intentional communities studied. The class format will be mainly
presentation and then question and answer period. There will be occasional
in-class writing assignments. Evaluation of the members' performance will
be based on participation in class discussion, clarity and accuracy of class
presentaions, research and writing skills developed, and the value to the
group of each individual's contribution.
Grade distribution
Oral work 30%
Written work 30%
Participation 25%
Final project 15%
UNEXCUSED ABSENCES ARE NOT PERMITTED. MORE THAN THREE
WILL RESULT IN A DROP OF ONE WHOLE GRADE POINT FROM THE FINAL GRADE
Course
outline
| Wednesday, August 25 |
Introduction |
| Friday, August 27 |
Research tools-the Library |
Week 2
Week 3
| Monday, September 6 |
Ephrata and music |
| Wednesday, September 8 |
Ephrata--trip |
| Friday, September 10 |
Ephrata and celibacy |
Week 4
Week 5
| Monday, September 20 |
The General Economy |
| Wednesday, September 22 |
Trip to Bethlehem |
| Friday, September 24 |
The Devotional Life--Music and Prayer--Ephrata and Bethlehem |
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
| Monday, October 11 |
BREAK |
| Wednesday, October 13 |
Shaker film |
| Friday, October 15 |
Project update |
Midsemester assignment
| You have now examined three communal societies from the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries. How do they differ? How are they similar? How
do they address the central issues of sexuality, gender and family? By what
means do they sustain the notion of community? |
Week 9
| Monday, October 18 |
German Immigrant Communes |
| Wednesday, October 20 |
Zoar |
| Friday, October 22 |
Rappites |
Week 10
| Monday, October 25 |
New Harmony |
| Wednesday, October 27 |
Amana |
| Friday, October 29 |
Guest speaker--Lois Huffines on the Amish |
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
| Monday, November 22 |
Hutterian Brethren |
| Wednesday, November 24 |
Thanksgiving Break |
| Friday, November 26 |
Thanksgiving Break |
Week 15
| Monday, November 29 |
Discussion of Kanter and update on websites |
| Wednesday, December 1 |
Professor Carol White on New Religious Movements |
| Friday, December 3 |
Guest speaker from Ananda Marga |
Week 16
| Monday, December 6 |
Final Projects |
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