Families and Communes: An Examination of Nontraditional Lifestyles (Understanding Families series)

This book focuses specifically on the role of the family in communal life. Communal groups are one type of nontraditional families, some communes are predisposed to families while others are not and some communal families can be replacements or substitutes for nuclear families. Historic communal groups such as Shakers, Oneida, Amana, and the Mormons are investigated as are contemporary rural and urban communal groups such as Twin Oaks, Jesus People USA, and the Hutterites.

What is life like in contemporary American communes? How do families fit into communal life? What are communal families, and what impact do families have on how communes are run and how they develop? As the only contemporary exploration of communal families, this book investigates the assumptions that scholars and others have made regarding the status of the family within communes, and debunks current myths about communes and communal families. While some groups are predisposed to families, other communal groups become replacements or substitutes for the nuclear family. William L. Smith investigates a variety of practices, including monogamy, polygamy, pantagamy, and celibacy, as implemented by intentional communities in dealing with family life. Drawing on the history of communes in the United States, Smith discusses various communal groups, such as the Shakers, the Mormons, the Oneida Community, the Amana Colonies, as well as contemporary rural and urban communal groups such as Twin Oaks, Jesus People USA, and the Hutterites.

Families and Communes provides students and researchers with an intriguing study of a unique social group that is often overlooked.

Booknews

Smith (sociology, Georgia Southern U.) investigates how families fit into contemporary and historical American communes and their impact on how the communes develop and are run. Drawing on examples such as the Shakers, the Mormons, the Oneida Community, the Amana Colonies and contemporary rural and urban communal groups such as Twin Oaks and the Hutterites, he finds that some groups are predisposed to families while others become replacement or substitutes for nuclear families. He also looks at various practices, including monogamy, polygamy, pantagamy, and celibacy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"What is life like in contemporary American communes? How do families fit into communal life? What are communal families, and what impact do families have on how communes are run and how they develop? As the only contemporary exploration of communal families, this book investigates the assumptions that scholars, and others, have made regarding the status of the family within communes, and debunks current myths about communes and communal families. Drawing on the history of communes in the United States, Smith discusses various communal groups, such as the Shakers, the Mormons, the Oneida Community, the Amana Colonies, as well as contemporary rural and urban communal groups such as Twin Oaks, Jesus People USA, and the Hutterites."--Jacket Cover 1 Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 14 Chapter 1 - Introduction 16 Chapter 2 - Communes: Conceptual, Definitional, Theoretical, and Typological Issues 38 Chapter 3 - Families in Historic Communal Utopias: Part 1 64 Chapter 4 - Families in Historic Communal Utopias: Part 2 88 Chapter 5 - Urban and Rural Communes of the 1960s and 1970s 102 Chapter 6 - Urban and Rural Communes of the 1980s and 1990s 120 Chapter 7 - What have We Learned about Families and Communities? 142 References 154 Author Index 164 Subject Index 168 About the Author 175