On Saturday, Aug. 1, the Steeple Building Museum in Bishop Hill will host a free presentation and book signing by Adam Kaul and Margaret Farrar, authors of Becoming Utopia, a book about Bishop Hill.
Anthropologist Dr. Kaul and political scientist Dr. Farrar teamed up to write this book over the course of 15 years. Becoming Utopia explores the story of Bishop Hill through a broad, historical lens. It examines the process of turning the dramatic history of the village into a heritage tourism economy between the 19th and 20th centuries. The authors also discuss how rural Midwestern communities negotiate social sustainability with green energy economics in the 21st century.
Dr. Kaul is the chair of sociology and anthropology at Augustana College in Rock Island. He focuses primarily on the economic and cultural impacts of the tourism industry in local places around the world. He has carried out extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Ireland, Sweden and the American Midwest. Kaul has published numerous books and articles on the intercultural interactions that occur in tourist destinations.
Dr. Farrar is a professor of political science at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. She is a Cleveland-based writer, photographer and educator. Dr. Farrar has published numerous articles on contemporary and democratic theory and gender politics.
The Steeple Building Museum is located at 103 N. Bishop Hill St. The event will begin at 2:30 p.m. For questions or additional information, call 309-927-3899 or email bhha@mymctc.net.
This presentation is hosted by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association.
