International Communal Studies Assoc July 2019

The ICSA, founded in 1985, is a network of scholars and communitarians that gathers every three years, usually on the site of a contemporary intentional community. Recent hosts include Tamera, Findhorn, Emek Yizrael, Damanhur, and ZEGG. The 2019 host communities are part of the Camphill movement, an international network of schools, villages, and urban households where people with and without intellectual disabilities create life together. Most Camphill communities host biodynamic farms or other environmental initiatives.

Call For Papers:

Our thirteenth international conference will explore strategies that intentional communities use to promote the inclusion and empowerment of persons of diverse abilities, cultures, races, economic backgrounds, religions, ages, genders, and sexualities. We especially welcome proposals related to intentional communities and community movements that focus on the experiences of particular groups that have historically been marginalized—as, for example, the Camphill movement does for persons with intellectual disabilities. What can the field of communal studies learn from the unique experiences of such communities? We also especially welcome proposals that explore the implications of community choices that seek to increase or to limit diversity. How have communities succeeded or failed in their efforts to increase diversity or strengthen inclusion? Under what circumstances is it appropriate or necessary for an intentional community to limit certain forms of diversity? What is the relationship between the mere presence of previously excluded persons in a community, and the full inclusion and empowerment of those persons? What lessons might intentional communities share with other persons and organizations committed to diversity, inclusion, and empowerment?

We welcome proposals in the following categories: 1) scholarly papers, 2) scholarly panels with 2-4 presenters, 3) workshops, and 4) cultural events.