Beyond Utopia: the Economic and Social Contributions of Icarian Communities

This event has been canceled.  We are hoping to reschedule the presentation later in the year. Please check back.

The Western Illinois Museum is pleased to welcome French Professor Damien Rousselière, who will offer a presentation, “Beyond Utopia: the Economic and Social Contributions of Icarian Communities (1848-1898).” The public is invited to hear his presentation on Friday, March 27 at 5:15 p.m. Donations accepted at the door.

Dr. Rousselière is a professor at the National Public University of Agriculture Sciences in Angers, France. He also holds research and visiting professor positions at a number of Canadian and American institutions, including Western Illinois University, where he researches in the University’s Baxter-Snyder Center for Icarian Studies. The Center contains materials about the Icarian settlement at Nauvoo, Illinois, and other utopian communities.

At the Western Illinois Museum Dr. Rousselière will speak on who the Icarians were and where and when they flourished; the governance of utopian communities; their philosophy of education; agricultural experiments and projects; and propaganda about the group. Following his presentation, there will be a brief question and answer session. 

Professor Rousselière’s presentation is co-organized by the Western Illinois Department of History.

The Western Illinois Museum is located at 201 South Lafayette Street, one block south of Macomb’s Courthouse Square. The building is fully handicap accessible and there is free parking available. For more information contact the museum by phone at 309.837.2750, text at 309.837.2613, or email at info@wimuseum.org.

The photograph above is from the April 5, 1972, Nauvoo Independent newspaper, which described this photograph as the Icarian dining hall with John Haas, center, who operated the city hall in this building. He is pictured with Ed Haas, Irvin Hudson, Allie Haas, and Clarence Haas. The building, later Nauvoo’s opera house, burned in 1938. Photograph courtesy of WIU Archives and Special Collections.