About the Conference

Innovative Communities: Past, Present, and Future

November 12–15, 2026 · New Harmony, Indiana

Two hundred years ago, Robert Owen and William Maclure came to New Harmony, Indiana, convinced a better society could be built from scratch. Owen wanted a "New Moral World" where character was shaped by environment; Maclure wanted universal education as the foundation of social progress. Together they founded the Community of Equality (1825–1827), a cooperative society grounded in education, equity, and shared prosperity. It was one of the most ambitious social experiments in American history.

Innovative Communities: Past, Present, and Future brings scholars, practitioners, and community builders back to New Harmony to take the Owen-Maclure experiment seriously as a question rather than a curiosity. What can we learn from past utopian communities? What efforts are being made today to innovate communities in ways both like and unlike those earlier attempts? And where are community innovations heading in light of recent social, environmental, technological, and economic challenges? Sessions span historical perspectives on utopian and cooperative movements, contemporary experiments in intentional living and shared space, and future visions shaped by technology, ecology, and social change.

Owen-Maclure 200

The conference is a centerpiece of the Owen-Maclure 200, a two-year bicentennial project exploring the Owen-Maclure community's ideals, its remarkable minds, and its lasting mark on American life. Running through 2025–2027, the bicentennial includes public programs, scholarly lectures, community events, and ongoing conversation about what the experiment achieved, what it failed at, and why those questions still matter.

Registration

Registration opens August 20, 2026. Space is limited to 150 participants. Register here.

Conference Committee

Innovative Communities: Past, Present, and Future has been shaped by the Owen-Maclure 200 Conference Committee, whose members gave their time and expertise in building the program—reviewing proposals, assembling sessions, and thinking hard about what a bicentennial conference ought to do. We are grateful for their work.

Dr. Matthew Hanka, Chair, University of Southern Indiana
Mr. David Angel, Historic New Harmony
Dr. Greg Brown, University of Southern Indiana
Dr. Andrew Buck, University of Southern Indiana
Ms. Jennifer Greene, University of Southern Indiana
Dr. Silvia Rode, University of Southern Indiana
Mr. Ryan Rokicki, Working Men's Institute Museum and Library
Mrs. Diane Sanders, Historic New Harmony

Partners and Sponsors

Organizing Partners

Contact Us

Please contact harmony@usi.edu if you require any dietary or accessibility accommodations.