The USI Center for Communal Studies will host a lecture by Dr. Dawn E. Bakken, associate editor of Indiana Magazine of History. Bakken will present "Monroe County's Own New Harmony? An Owenite Experiment in 1826 Bloomington, Indiana," from 2 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, October 24, in Kleymeyer Hall in the Liberal Arts Center.

Robert Owen was an English industrialist and social reformer who established utopian communities at New Lanark, Scotland, and New Harmony, Indiana, in the early years of the 19th century. A similar attempt was made near Bloomington, Indiana in 1826. Bakken’s presentation will explore the history of this lesser-known experiment in intentional community planning.
 
Bakken holds a doctorate in religious studies and American studies from Indiana University-Bloomington. 

The Center for Communal Studies promotes the study of historic and contemporary communal groups, intentional communities, and utopias. Established at USI in 1976, the center encourages and facilitates meetings, classes, scholarships, publications, networking, and public interest in contemporary and historic communal groups in the U.S. and abroad.

For more information, contact Dr. Casey Harison, director of the Center for Communal Studies, at 812/465-7150.