Innovative Communities: Past, Present, and Future Conference

This conference commemorates the bicentennial of the Community of Equality (1825-1827), the ambitious social experiment founded by Robert Owen and his partner, William Maclure, in New Harmony, Indiana. Owen envisioned a "New Moral World" where character was shaped by environment, and Maclure championed universal education as the foundation for social progress. Together, they sought to create a cooperative society grounded in education, equity, and shared prosperity.

What can we learn from the experience of past utopian communities? What efforts are currently being made to innovate communities in ways similar to and different from previous experiments? Where are community innovations heading in light of recent social, environmental, technological, and economic challenges?

Call for Proposals

We welcome papers, panels, posters, and workshops that engage with the theme "Innovative Communities: Past, Present, and Future" and use Robert Owen's Community of Equality and other historical intentional community experiments as a point of departure. We are interested in contributions discussing innovations that follow the tradition of intentional communities like Robert Owen's New Harmony, but also those taking alternative approaches to innovation. Current community innovations that address both present and future challenges also align with the theme of this conference.

Potential topics include (but are not limited to):

• Historical perspectives: Utopian movements, cooperative societies, and reformist communities.

• Contemporary innovations: Intentional communities, co-housing, maker spaces, and digital commons.

• Future visions: Technological, ecological, and social innovations shaping community life.

• Interdisciplinary approaches: Art, architecture, education, communications, economics, governance, and sustainability.

• Global comparisons: How diverse cultures have imagined and implemented innovative communities.

Please include in your proposal:

1. Title of presentation

2. Name, affiliation, and contact information of author(s) and/or presenter(s)

3. 250-word abstract

4. Preferred format (i.e., paper, panel, poster, or workshop)

Deadline for Proposals: Friday, June 1, 2026

For questions or submissions, please contact: Dr. Silvia Rode, Director, Center for Communal Studies at [email protected].