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Nature, Society, and Culture
Dwelling in Resistance: Living with Alternative Technologies in America
Most Americans take for granted much of what is materially involved in the daily rituals of dwelling. In Dwelling in Resistance, Chelsea Schelly examines four alternative U.S. communities—“The Farm,” “Twin Oaks,” “Dancing Rabbit,” and “Earthships”—where electricity, water, heat, waste, food, and transportation practices differ markedly from those of the vast majority of Americans.
Schelly portrays a wide range of residential living alternatives utilizing renewable, small-scale, de-centralized technologies. These technologies considerably change how individuals and communities interact with the material world, their natural environment, and one another. Using in depth interviews and compelling ethnographic observations, the book offers an insightful look at different communities’ practices and principles and their successful endeavors in sustainability and self-sufficiency.
Schelly portrays a wide range of residential living alternatives utilizing renewable, small-scale, de-centralized technologies. These technologies considerably change how individuals and communities interact with the material world, their natural environment, and one another. Using in depth interviews and compelling ethnographic observations, the book offers an insightful look at different communities’ practices and principles and their successful endeavors in sustainability and self-sufficiency.
- GenresNonfiction
248 pages, Paperback
Published August 2, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 7, 2018
A fascinating study of four intentional communities (or 3 intentional communities and one particular type of home first built in what seems like an intentional community to me).
Whatever the title and subtitle suggest, the book is basically a sociological study of living in communities that involve a different relationship to technologies. For example, a couple of these communities do not allow members to own their own cars, instead sharing several vehicles. There is a chart on page 155 that shows the 4 examples and their various relations to technology, if that is your main interest. But I would encourage you to read the four core chapters about the communities, which are all compelling accounts of different ways to approach sustainable living in America. They are mostly rural, but that's worth thinking about, too.
Fair warning: This was adapted from a dissertation, and it shows. I have the feeling the author was trying to write in plain language, but had to dress it up in academic jargon occasionally. For my taste, too much of the academic framework was retained. But if you read the four core chapters, that is much less the case - these chapters are quite readable, even if a bit of scholarly language pops up from time to time. I highly recommend these four core chapters as stimulating the reader to much-needed thinking about how we relate to infrastructure of daily life and the environment.
Whatever the title and subtitle suggest, the book is basically a sociological study of living in communities that involve a different relationship to technologies. For example, a couple of these communities do not allow members to own their own cars, instead sharing several vehicles. There is a chart on page 155 that shows the 4 examples and their various relations to technology, if that is your main interest. But I would encourage you to read the four core chapters about the communities, which are all compelling accounts of different ways to approach sustainable living in America. They are mostly rural, but that's worth thinking about, too.
Fair warning: This was adapted from a dissertation, and it shows. I have the feeling the author was trying to write in plain language, but had to dress it up in academic jargon occasionally. For my taste, too much of the academic framework was retained. But if you read the four core chapters, that is much less the case - these chapters are quite readable, even if a bit of scholarly language pops up from time to time. I highly recommend these four core chapters as stimulating the reader to much-needed thinking about how we relate to infrastructure of daily life and the environment.
September 14, 2018
Informative and inspiring.
May 6, 2021
I recommend this book for so many reasons. To examine the pillars of normal, the pillars of what is expected and the origin of how those pillars got built. Looking at human daily life and the impacts of technologies on it. A beautiful examining of what we consider normal through the lenses and examples of different alternative communities living in resistance to it, living without those technologies or the expected normal behaviors and routines they bring.
November 5, 2017
4.5. Chock full of fascinating observations on community living and the ways our physical and social lives intersect, rendered in an intelligible manner. Highly recommend for those interested in communitarianism especially paired with the most recent issue of Communities magazzine - "Learning from the Past".
April 19, 2018
Great sociological look into four alternative communities "The Farm," "Twin Oaks," "Dancing Rabbit," and "Earthships", where people reimagine traditional dwelling practices and implement a more communal and ecologically minded approach to living by reinventing our relationship with centralized technological systems.
July 1, 2020
I liked each case study overall and would recommend to folks looking for a flavor of contemporary intentional communities in the USA. However, the text suffers in places from the turgid 'academese' you find in a lot of humanities research.
March 21, 2022
I skimmed a lot of this. I was hoping for more details on what it's like to live in the places that were highlighted, but this was looking at bigger ideas.
July 25, 2018
The strength of this book was definitely the chapters describing the case study communities. The author did a great job of describing the similarities and differences among the communities on aspects of technologies, goals, levels/types of communalism, etc.
The introduction did a decent job of describing the intended focus. However, I felt lost in the conclusion, which highlighted some important points, but also introduced some new ideas that I had trouble understanding.
The writing style throughout could have used some additional clarity. I felt lost in some sentences. And, the book could have used a little more proofreading before it was published.
The introduction did a decent job of describing the intended focus. However, I felt lost in the conclusion, which highlighted some important points, but also introduced some new ideas that I had trouble understanding.
The writing style throughout could have used some additional clarity. I felt lost in some sentences. And, the book could have used a little more proofreading before it was published.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews