View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Institutional Repository for Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects Projects 2017 The yT pology of Community: A Case Study Analysis of Three Intentional Communities Caleb Kalinowski Minnesota State University, Mankato Follow this and additional works at: http://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds Part of the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social History Commons, and the Sociology of Culture Commons Recommended Citation Kalinowski, Caleb, "The yT pology of Community: A Case Study Analysis of Three Intentional Communities" (2017). All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects. 670. http://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/670 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects at Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Typology of Community: A Case Study Analysis of Three Intentional Communities by Caleb J. Kalinowski A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In Applied Anthropology Minnesota State University, Mankato Mankato, Minnesota December 2016 Copyright Caleb J. Kalinowski 2017 The Typology of Community: A Case Study Analysis of Three Intentional Communities Caleb J. Kalinowski This thesis has been examined and approved by the following members of the student’s committee. Dr. Kathryn Elliott Advisor Dr. Susan Schalge Committee Member Keith Luebke, MFA Committee Member Dedication I dedicate this thesis to Andrew Brown for years of inspiration, guidance, and friendship. Acknowledgements The completion of this work would not have been possible without the encouragement and support of many faculty and staff at Minnesota State University Mankato. Chiefly among them I thank my advisor Dr. Kathryn Elliott, Dr. Schalge, and the rest of the anthropology department, as well as Professor Luebke and the sociology department. I also express my sincere thanks to each of the communities and to every informant for their contributions to this work, and certainly for their wonderful hospitality and friendships offered over the course of research. Lastly I thank my wonderful friends, classmates, and all others who have had a hand in my development as the lifelong student I hope to be, and whose impact inspires me to investigate the world through the eyes of many. The Typology of Community: A Case Study Analysis of Three Intentional Communities Abstract Typological schemes like those produced by Emile Durkheim and Ferdinand Tönnies have been used to classify human groups in an evolutionary spectrum ranging from the simple to the complex. Though the typological approach was foundational to further development of the western social sciences it is seldom used to examine what might be termed “simple” societies in the modern day. This study aims to apply the contributions of the two theorists listed above to the concept of the modern intentional community. Although these communities comprise an eclectic and diverse social phenomenon, their characteristic small populations and other features make them intriguing subjects for the application of theoretical concepts previously reserved for earlier cultural groups existing peripheral to the developed state. Caleb Kalinowski, M.S. Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2016 Supervisor: Dr. Kathryn Elliott Table of Contents Context and Purpose of the Research ..........................................................................................1 Methods ...........................................................................................................................................3 Site Selection ...................................................................................................................3 Data Collection ................................................................................................................6 Interpretive Approach ......................................................................................................7 Composition ....................................................................................................................8 Nomad Creek Community ..........................................................................................................10 Population ......................................................................................................................10 Agency and Experimentation ........................................................................................10 New Philosophy and Nomad Creek ..............................................................................14 Social Environment at Nomad Creek ............................................................................18 Living Situation ..............................................................................................20 Mechanisms of Integration ............................................................................................23 Radical Acceptance ........................................................................................25 Compassionate Anarchy .................................................................................27 Radical Transparency .....................................................................................27 ZEGG Forum .......................................................................................28 Local Community Application of Integrative Exercises ...............................32 Honey Locust Egalitarian Community ......................................................................................35 Population and Demographics .......................................................................................35 Element of Space ...........................................................................................................38 Integration: A Working Community .............................................................................42 Labor Organization .......................................................................................44 Spheres of Labor ..........................................................................................46 Other Spheres of Integration .........................................................................................50 Housing Subgroups ......................................................................................52 Ideological Sphere of Integration .................................................................52 Communalism ...............................................................................................55 Relationships with the Outside .....................................................................................56 Distance and Estrangement ..........................................................................58 Communitarian Identity ...............................................................................59 Archetypes ...................................................................................................62 Bhakti Farm ISKCON Community ...........................................................................................64 Population ......................................................................................................................64 The ISKCON Context ...................................................................................................65 Srila Prabhupada and the Hare Krishnas .......................................................67 Community Arrangement ..............................................................................................68 Generations of Membership ..........................................................................................70 Element of Space ...........................................................................................................71 Evolving Community ....................................................................................................74 Integrative Mechanisms ................................................................................................76 Passing the Torch ..........................................................................................................81 Evolving Spirit ..............................................................................................................86 The Concept of Liminality: A Demonstration of Relevant Literature ...................................89 Twin Paradoxes ..............................................................................................................91 The Intentional Community as a Liminal State .............................................................93 Estrangement in the Case Study Communities .............................................................95 Honey Locust ...............................................................................................95 Bhakti Farm ..................................................................................................96