Utopian Possibilities: Models, Theories, Critiques

Utopian Possibilities explores the power of the utopian imagination to identify and create ideas and methods that can bring about tangible improvements in ways of living and relating socially. The forty-one authors of the thirty-eight brief essays in this volume submit old and new utopian models and discourses to expert analysis and critique, considering the tensions and barriers involved in the quest to realize genuine change and improvement in complex societies. Specific contributions engage critically with the climate crisis, challenges to democracy, activist resistance to tyranny and authoritarianism, struggles over cultural memory, challenges posed by artificial intelligence, and new ways to understand communities, difference and ourselves. The discussions of tangible or imaginable changes or reconceptualizations of social, cultural and architectural institutions offer a persuasive rejoinder to the argument that there is no alternative to present dystopic conditions. This volume provides an important insight into the versatility of utopian thinking, and its application to a wide variety of social problems and questions, from historical and political developments to present day challenges. It offers hope at a time of social, environmental and technological crises that we may find paths to a better future through open discussion embracing multiple perspectives.