Customer Reviews

Intentional Community: An Anthropological Perspective (Suny Series in Anthropological Studies of Contemporary Issues)

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Susan Love Brown is an anthropology professor, and she states in the preface to this 2002 book, "This book came into being as a consequence of my attending the annual meeting of the Communal Studies Association ... in 1995. I was especially encouraged by the involvement of so many anthropologists and others who use anthropological theory to interpret experiences in community."

In this book, she brings together eight essays (two of her own), providing an academic perspective on specific issues involving intentional communities, such as, "Liminality, Communities, Charisma, and Community," "Maintaining Communitas in a Religious Community," "Development of Alternative Marriage Systems," "Community, Gender, and Violence Against the Shakers," "Sociogenesis and Schismogenesis in Intentional Communities," "Community as Cultural Critique," etc.

One essay defines an intentional community as "one whose members actively strive to forge such a shared identity." In the concluding essay, Brown says, "intentional communities constitute one more tool for the analysis of culture and society."

This book will be of interest to those interested in an ACADEMIC study of intentional communities, communes, utopian societies, ecovillages, and similar movements.

I purchased this book new. It arrived and was exactly what I was expecting and arrived right on time. I am satisfied.