Rethinking Utopia

Place, Power, Affect

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Political, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Social Science
Cover of the book Rethinking Utopia by David M. Bell, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David M. Bell ISBN: 9781317486701
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: January 20, 2017
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: David M. Bell
ISBN: 9781317486701
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: January 20, 2017
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Over five hundred years since it was named, utopia remains a vital concept for understanding and challenging the world(s) we inhabit, even in – or rather because of – the condition of ‘post-utopianism’ that supposedly permeates them. In Rethinking Utopia David M. Bell offers a diagnosis of the present through the lens of utopia and then, by rethinking the concept through engagement with utopian studies, a variety of ‘radical’ theories and the need for decolonizing praxis, shows how utopianism might work within, against and beyond that which exists in order to provide us with hope for a better future.

He proposes paying a ‘subversive fidelity’ to utopia, in which its three constituent terms: ‘good’ (eu), ‘place’ (topos), and ‘no’ (ou) are rethought to assert the importance of immanent, affective relations. The volume engages with a variety of practices and forms to articulate such a utopianism, including popular education/critical pedagogy; musical improvisation; and utopian literature. The problems as well as the possibilities of this utopianism are explored, although the problems are often revealed to be possibilities, provided they are subject to material challenge.

Rethinking Utopia offers a way of thinking about (and perhaps realising) utopia that helps overcome some of the binary oppositions structuring much thinking about the topic. It allows utopia to be thought in terms of place and process; affirmation and negation; and the real and the not-yet. Itengages with the spatial and affective turns in the social sciences without ever uncritically being subsumed by them; and seeks to make connections to indigenous cosmologies. It is a cautious, careful, critical work punctuated by both pessimism and hope; and a refusal to accept the finality of this or any world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Over five hundred years since it was named, utopia remains a vital concept for understanding and challenging the world(s) we inhabit, even in – or rather because of – the condition of ‘post-utopianism’ that supposedly permeates them. In Rethinking Utopia David M. Bell offers a diagnosis of the present through the lens of utopia and then, by rethinking the concept through engagement with utopian studies, a variety of ‘radical’ theories and the need for decolonizing praxis, shows how utopianism might work within, against and beyond that which exists in order to provide us with hope for a better future.

He proposes paying a ‘subversive fidelity’ to utopia, in which its three constituent terms: ‘good’ (eu), ‘place’ (topos), and ‘no’ (ou) are rethought to assert the importance of immanent, affective relations. The volume engages with a variety of practices and forms to articulate such a utopianism, including popular education/critical pedagogy; musical improvisation; and utopian literature. The problems as well as the possibilities of this utopianism are explored, although the problems are often revealed to be possibilities, provided they are subject to material challenge.

Rethinking Utopia offers a way of thinking about (and perhaps realising) utopia that helps overcome some of the binary oppositions structuring much thinking about the topic. It allows utopia to be thought in terms of place and process; affirmation and negation; and the real and the not-yet. Itengages with the spatial and affective turns in the social sciences without ever uncritically being subsumed by them; and seeks to make connections to indigenous cosmologies. It is a cautious, careful, critical work punctuated by both pessimism and hope; and a refusal to accept the finality of this or any world.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Anthropologies of Cancer in Transnational Worlds by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Makers of the Russian Revolution by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Comparative Vandalism by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Improving the Quality of East and West European Public Services by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Reform in Europe by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Translating Humour by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Migration by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Language, Education and Uyghur Identity in Urban Xinjiang by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Executive Power and Soviet Politics by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Cross-Curricular Primary Practice by David M. Bell
Cover of the book The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Rawls, Citizenship, and Education by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Water, Sovereignty and Borders in Asia and Oceania by David M. Bell
Cover of the book The Agency of Things in Medieval and Early Modern Art by David M. Bell
Cover of the book Hannibal's Dynasty by David M. Bell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy