This novel is a work of extraordinary imagination and wide range. Its playful narrative techniques convey a profound message, both personal and political, about humankind's inability to love and yet our compulsion to go on trying.

This book provides an account of how, in the years 1800-1825, enlightened entrepreneur and budding reformer Robert Owen used his cotton mill village of New Lanark, Scotland, as a test-bed for a set of political intuitions which would later form the bedrock of early socialism in Britain. Drawing from previously unpublished archival sources, this study shows that New Lanark was not merely on the receiving end of Owen’s innovative brand of industrial paternalism, but also acted as a major source of inspiration for many aspects of his social system, including his desire to remodel society along communitarian lines. This book therefore reaffirms the centrality of New Lanark as the cradle of socialism in Britain, and provides a contextualised, social history of Owen’s ideas, tracing direct continuities between his early years as a paternalistic businessman, and his later career as a radical political leader. In doing so, it eschews the myth of New Lanark as a unidimensional ‘model’ village and addresses the ambiguities of Owen’s journey from paternalism to socialism.

From New Lanark to Mound Bayou re-examines the claims that a theoretical and ideological relationship existed between the Scottish manufacturer/reformer Robert Owen and the Mississippi planter Joseph E. Davis, whose former bondsmen later settled the postbellum Mississippi community of Mound Bayou in 1887. Drawing upon existing data as well as new documentation, this work provides an overview of Owenism followed by an outline of Owen's communities in both Scotland and the United States. These examinations of Owen's societies show the influence of his ideas on the Mississippi communities at Davis Bend as well as that of Mound Bayou, the Delta's first entirely African-American town, founded by one of Davis' former slaves. This book examines the many questions left by the adaptations of Owenite thought in Davis' reconfiguration of the slave community at Davis Bend. The book also considers the carryovers from this endeavor at Mound Bayou. Rosen specifically addresses the ways a redefined Owenism, originally designed to reform ruthless labor practices, ultimately enables Davis to construct a more talented and versatile slave workforce that propels him to enviable economic heights. These transformations of Owen's so-called Utopian scheme further inform the accomplishments of the two most immediate beneficiaries of Davis' refined Owenism: the former Davis Bend slave Benjamin T. Montgomery, who took over the Davis holdings in the aftermath of the Civil War; and his son Isaiah T. Montgomery, who co-founded and ultimately presided over Mound Bayou's earliest years. From New Lanark to Mound Bayou has cross-discipline appeal for those with interests in sociology, history, and economics, as well as American- and African-American studies, Southern studies, communitarian studies, and political theory.

The first thing I remember is... falling. A young man arrives in a dying city with seashells in his pockets. He doesn't know who he is, or how he got here. He goes by the only name he can think of: Lanark. Lanark is a portrait of the outsider artist as a young man, an exploded life story like no other. This theatrical re-imagining of Alasdair Gray's classic novel takes us from the Dragon Chambers to the Cathedral of Unthank, from the post-war Glasgow School of Art to the sinister underground Institute, from the heavenly city of Provan to the hellish Elite Café, combining science-fiction, realism, fantasy, and playful storytelling. 'Insanely ambitious... a heady, unsettling, unpredictable dream... this is a darkly playful and intriguingly dislocated evening in which chronological time, theatre's fourth wall, character conventions and all expectations get smashed.' Guardian Lanark: A Life in Three Acts was conceived in collaboration by David Greig and Graham Eatough and adapted for the stage in collaboration with the creative team. It was presented as a co-production between the Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival at the Edinburgh International Festival 2015.

This case study is part of the Contemporary Cases Online series. The series provides critical case studies that are original, flexible, challenging, controversial and research-informed, driven by the needs of teaching and learning.

This 12-hour free course explored the ideas of Robert Owen and a range of social issues he sought to address in the early 1800s.