A Feminist Theoretical Approach to the Historical Archaeology of Utopian Communities

A feminist approach provides new insights into the significant impacts of utopian gender ideologies and practices on the transformation of American culture from the 19th century into the 20th century. First, the context in which utopian gender ideologies developed is discussed, including married women’s lack of rights and alternative philosophies and ideologies. An archaeological framework is then developed for assessing the major issue of the degree of communalism vs. familism practiced in utopian communities compared with documented ideology. Archaeological data can provide new insights into the degree of material implementation of utopian gender ideologies concerning cooperative housekeeping and related sexual arrangements. Archaeology can also contribute data on the extent of adoption in the wider culture of utopian cooperative housekeeping enterprises and accompanying inventions.