Book description
In An Unreal Estate, Lucinda Carspecken takes an in-depth look at
Lothlorien, a Southern Indiana nature sanctuary, sustainable camping
ground, festival site, collective residence, and experiment in
ecological building, stewardship, and organization. Carspecken notes
the way fiction and reality intertwine on this piece of land and
argues that examples such as Lothlorien have the power to be a force
for social change. Lothlorien's organization and social norms are in
sharp contrast with its surrounding communities. As a unique enclave
within a larger society, it offers to the latter both an implicit
critique and a cluster of alternative values and lifestyles. In
addition, it has created a niche where some participants change, grow,
and find empowerment in an environment that is accepting of
difference-particularly in areas of religion and sexual orientation.
"So much attention is paid today to national affairs that we
are losing an understanding of the nature of small-scale governance.
Readers of An Unreal Estate will benefit greatly from the insights of
community participants in their revealing interviews about
opportunities, struggles, surprises, and the wide range of meaningful
events that can occur in a small intentional community. This is a book
that is very worthwhile for scholars as well as citizens to buy, read,
and think hard about." -Elinor Ostrom, 2009 Nobel Laureate in
Economic Sciences
Lucinda Carspecken is Adjunct Professor in Qualitative Research
Methods and Anthropology at Indiana University Bloomington.
