One thing I find very interesting about the Owenites is their outlook on education. Owen believed that the members of the society should be raised by the community as a whole in order to “fashion a superior character” (Pitzer 94), not by there families, which could be a negative influence on the children. As a result of Owen’s educational beliefs, children learned mostly through interaction with other members of the community. The schooling even included the adults in the community, offering to them educational, social and cultural activities (Pitzer 94). I find this aspect of the Owenite culture quite curious because it is so different from the culture within I was raised. I learned almost everything I know and believe today from my family. Although I attended school with all of my friends, we are all different people and all have different beliefs and morals.
I would like to learn more about the role of women in this community. According to the source, women entered into the society expecting to have equal civil and social rights to men, however, women from cultured families in the east often felt as though they were being forced to perform great amounts of demeaning domestic labor. Were the majority of women happy with their life in the Owenite society? What role did Owenites play in advocating for women’s rights? Were men equal to women? These are questions I think are both interesting and important because it helps to see deeper into the Owenite community and learn what it was truly all about.
Work Cited:
Pitzer, Donald E. “The New Moral World of Robert Owen and New Harmony” in America’s Communal Utopias. Edited by Donald E. Pitzer. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997, pp. 88-134.
I like how you are exploring the idea of women in this community. Great start to this fascinating topic. I like the questions you are asking. It might be hard to know whether women were actually “happy” with their role in the community. Knowing how women valued “happiness” at this time, in this place, is a difficult thing. Happy relative to what? Getting at the inner thoughts and feelings is tough. Unfortunately, sources like Tirzah Miller’s intimate memoir of her time at Oneida are rare. But you might consider the ways in which female Owenite leaders participated in the community. What responsibilities were they given? The second question might be an easier one to pursue. Women’s rights are clearly in the minds of many during this time.