Utopia Against the World - 26 March 2014

This workshop, Utopia Against the World: Spatial Resistance, Spatial Alternatives, was sponsored by the Centre for Advanced Studies, the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice and the School of Geography at the University of Nottingham.

The event opened by outlining some of the perennial problems for the study of utopia. These included the superficial contradiction that the most anti-utopian position can also be the most utopian, the problem of utopian perfectibility and the thinking around a post-future re-imagination of utopia.

The panel '(Science) Fiction, Utopia and Terror' had presentations from Emma Segar (Edge Hill University) with 'Trouble in Paradise: The Problems with Writing Utopian Fiction' and Judie Newman, (University of Nottingham) with 'Utopia and Guantánamo: Amy Waldman “Freedom”'.

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Judie Newman gave an overview of Amy Waldman's short story - well meaning despot in charge, inhabitants are highly institutionalised, any question recalls interrogation. This 'utopia' is run by a colonial despot character; everything is perfect but people still feel miserable (as long a freedom looks happy, it doesn't have to be happy). Ultimately, anti-utopian consequences arise from the inhabitants flexing their freedoms - order turns out to be easier to enforce than happiness.

The story is described as a kind of post-colonial parable - freedom cannot be granted, only won. Utopia not the creation of place but impulse enacted in engagement with power.

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Emma spoke about her PhD project, which is an attempt to avoid the finality utopia potentially imposes. Using the blog fiction form, 'Bad Influence' develops a series of narratives based on utopian/dystopian themes.

Quiz - 'which utopia are you building?': http://badinfluences.org.uk/take-part/which-utopia-are-you-building/
 

General Observations

There is no evidence for the theory that utopia is specific to the Christian tradition - to the contrary, there are Chinese, Japanese and Islamic utopian traditions.

Intentional communities: starting with a dream, leading to a plan, leading to the creation of spaces. Utopia can only exist in space temporarily: mapping, building, community living (Sargisson).

Dan Hancox - 'Marinaleda: Spain's Communist Utopia' Drawing on his recently published book The Village Against the World, this talk discusses life in the Spanish village of Marinaleda - the self-declared 'communist utopia'.