Contradictions in the Design and Practice of an Alternative Organization: The Case of Hampslhie College

Abstract

Explicit and implicit design assumptions in the founding of Hampshire College are reviewed, especially as they relate to contradictions and problems evident in practice now, 20 years after its initial design. Issues include: • the role of ideology in distorting perception and impeding problemsolving; • the role of alternative institutions in the diffusion and implementation of educational innovations; • the backsliding from an experimenting institution; and • the difficulty of shifting from a founding to a self-renewing orientation. Historical analysis finds that Hampshire was not structurally designed or enacted as a national experimenting college, but acquired this style and image in exploiting the environment for financial and human resources. The College is also found to embody a major contradiction of American society: that between norms of individual freedom and responsibility and norms of social responsibility and community. Three conclusions are offered to designers of alternative organizations: • there are semantic entrapments in the phrase "alternative organization"-its use may often obscure quite traditional ideologies; • there is a need for explicit feedback and evaluation systems monitoring the planners and the plan; and • the wise fool should be welcomed back as a valued member of design and management groups.