USI Center for Communal Studies Lecture happening in person, virtual October 20

The University of Southern Indiana Center for Communal Studies will host a lecture, “Seeing Like a Commons,” presented by Dr. Joshua Lockyer, Professor of Anthropology at Arkansas Tech University, at 3 p.m. Thursday, October 20 in Kleymeyer Hall in the Liberal Arts Center.  

In “Seeing Like a Commons,” Lockyer will demonstrate how a growing group of people have, over the last 80 years, deliberately built Celo Community, a communal settlement on 1,200 acres of commonly owned land in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Through the story of the oldest existing non-sectarian intentional community in the United States, Lockyer shows how community members have cultivated the cultural practices and worldviews to become better stewards and citizens of both local landscapes and global commons. Using Elinor Ostrom’s “commons design principles” as a heuristic framework, and acknowledging the hard work and long-term commitment required, he suggests Celo may offer a rough framework for other groups who wish to be good commons stewards. 

“Dr. Joshua Lockyer’s research on the Cello Community in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina offers concrete solutions and hope for improving human relationships with nature and peaceful coexistence,” says Dr. Silvia Rode, Director of the Center for Communal Studies at USI.  

The event will also be presented via Zoom. For more information, contact  Rode at sarode@usi.edu or 812-465-7026.