BLOG POST 1: What do I find interesting or curious about this group of people? What more do I need to know to situate this community in the problem or concept of utopia?
Finish your blog with one or more broad research questions that you want to pursue.

The Icarians are, at the surface, a rather traditional utopian community: a central leader, core teachings, and commonality within the community.  But these factors, while critical, are not the most interesting aspects of the community.  I find that the factions that emerged throughout the “lifespan” of the Icarian communities to be one of the most curious things about the community.  Often in other utopian communities, such as Owen’s or Oneida’s, once there is an initial breakup or division into factions, the end is most certainly near for the community.  But the Icarians were different.  Going through at least 5 major phases, the Icarians had several major fractions where the group divided and moved on and the separate parts went their separate ways, but for the majority, remained in accordance with the teachings of Cabet. As I look further and further into the community, I see the commonality aspects of More’s Utopia with the shared possessions and clearly defined rules and goals, but there is a “break” from More’s traditional utopia with the Icarians as they clearly defined who they wanted in their community and who they wanted to exclude.  I believe that looking more into these requirements and how they were perceived inside and outside of the community would deepen my understanding of the community and the goals they were striving towards. The research concerning requirements coupled with readings of Cabet’s work would allow me, as I attempt to learn more about the Icarian community, to establish a base from which to launch the entirety of my project.

A few broad based questions for research:

1. Who were the main critics of the Icarian community and what were their main issues with the community?
2. Was the Icarian community well known, liked, and/or respected by the communities they interacted with?
3. What were the expectations of the members who joined the Icarians?
4. What lasting impact did the Icarians have on their surroundings?
5. Did Cabet’s writings allow for prolonged Icarian communal existence despite his death?
   1. What Cabet the reason for the initial fractions or were there other additional factors at play?
6. How did the membership requirements potentially limit the existence of the community?
   1. Do membership requirements spell the downfall of the community?
   2. Do they signal a lack of equality?