The Ninth International Communal Studies Conference
International Communal Studies Association
Damanhur, Italy
June 29 - July 1, 2007
Preconference tour July 2-3, 2007
Emeritus Prof. Dennis Hardy, Outgoing ICSA President, reports on the ICSA
Damanhur Conference
The International Communal Studies Association (ICSA) is alive and well! At the end of June, members gathered for the latest in its series of international conferences. This time the location was the beautiful Val Chiusella, in the foothills of the Italian Alps to the north of Turin, where ICSA enjoyed the warm hospitality of the well-established Damanhur community. As well as a unique opportunity to meet like-minded enthusiasts from around the world, the event offered a rich mix of reflective papers and community practice. An additional attraction was a post-conference visit to an inspirational eco-village, Torri Superiore,
as well as to some more traditional
examples of Italian community living.
Conference Website
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The Communitarian Vision 2004
The Eighth International Communal Studies Conference
International Communal Studies Association
The Amana Colonies, Iowa, USA
June 28 - 30, 2004
Preconference tour June 26-27, 2004
Conference Program
Prof. Tim Miller, Outgoing ICSA President, reports on the ICSA Amana Conference
The International Communal Studies Association held its eighth triennial international conference in June 2004 at the Amana Colonies, Iowa, USA. A fine program, coordinated by Elizabeth De Wolfe, smooth-running local arrangements handled by Lanny Haldy and his staff and volunteers at the Amana Heritage Society, and website and technical support from Gina Walker, Peter Forster and others provided the approximately seventy-five persons attending with an abundance of information and conviviality.
The conference was preceded by a two-day tour that visited five present and historic communal sites: Maharishi Vedic City in Fairfield, Iowa; Nauvoo, Illinois; Bethel, Missouri, Sandhill Farm, Missouri and Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, Missouri. A highlight of the tour was a visit to Lillian Snyder's home and her Icarian history collections in Nauvoo, complete with an extensive spread of snacks from Sheila Owens.
This conference marked the retirement of Yaacov Oved, the cofounder of the ICSA who has been its executive director from the beginning. Yaacov gave a plenary lecture outlining the history of communal networks and international dimensions in the study of intentional communities and as a token of its appreciation the association presented him with a copy of the new Encyclopaedia of Community, kindly provided by the Berkshire Publishing Group and Sage Publications. The Encyclopaedia will be placed in the library of the kibbutz research center at Yad Tabenkin, Israel.
The Communal Studies Association took the opportunity of Yaacov's U.S. visit to present him with its Donald E. Pitzer Distinguished Service Award for 2004, to honor him for his work to further the study of communalism.
Dennis Hardy of England was elected the new president of ICSA and will oversee arrangements for the next conference in 2007.
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ICSA Conference 2001
The latest ICSA conference was held in the ZEGG community from 25th to 27th June, 2001.
The theme was Communal Living on the Threshold of a New Millennium: Lessons and Perspectives.
Sub-themes at ICSA2001 included:
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Communal Survival, Subsistence & New Work |
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New Communication Technologies and Virtual Communities |
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Researching and Teaching about Communalism |
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Diversity (Gender, Ethnicity, Class, Sex, etc.) & Post-Modern Values |
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Do-It-Yourself Communal Cultures |
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Sex, Gender, New Family Forms & Age Issues in Communal Groups |
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Communal Ecology, Economics & Sustainability; Ecovillages |
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Political and Social/Psychological Importance of Communal Living |
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Communal History & Utopianism |
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The Kibbutz in the new Millennium |
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Trends in Urban Communal Living, Cohousing, Housing Co-ops, etc. |
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'Cults' and 'Cult-busting/bashing'
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Post Conference Tour
A tour of nearby ecovillages, urban and rural communities followed the conference.
International Gathering of Communal Groups
Following the ICSA 2001 Conference and Post Conference Tour, some delegrates stayed for the 4th International Community Meeting (ICM) at ZEGG. Since 1998 members of communal groups from around the globe have gathered at ZEGG for this annual meeting in order to build up a network of friendship and cooperation and to establish concrete projects (for youth education and exchange etc).
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Conference Proceedings
If you would like to read or download a copy of the Conference Proceedings, please click on this link:
Conference Proceedings
This document is a PDF (Portable Document Format) file. It is about 960 kb. To view it, you will need a copy of Acrobat ® Reader, which you can download free. Clicking on the Acrobat icon below will take you to the download site.
Alternative ICSA 2001 Conference homepage address:
http://www.antenna.nl/icsa/
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