Utopia - clima culturale

Utopia(s) - Worlds and Frontiers of the Imaginary, 2016

Summary The idea of Utopia springs from a natural desire of transformation, of evolution pertaining to humankind and, therefore, one can find expressions of “utopian” desire in every civilization. Having to do explicitly with human condition, Utopia accompanies closely cultural evolution, almost as a symbiotic organism. Maintaining its roots deeply attached to ancient myths, utopian expression followed, and sometimes preceded cultural transformation. Through the next almost five hundred pages (virtually one for each year since Utopia was published) researchers in the fields of Architecture and Urbanism, Arts and Humanities present the results of their studies within the different areas of expertise under the umbrella of Utopia. Past, present, and future come together in one book. They do not offer their readers any golden key. Many questions will remain unanswered, as they should. The texts presented in Proportion Harmonies and Identities - UTOPIA(S) WORLDS AND FRONTIERS OF THE IMAG...

Office phone: 517-607-2724 Office: Kendall 406 Office hours: Monday 11:00-12:00, Wednesday 9:30-10:30 and 3:30-5:00, Friday 2:30-3:30; and by appointment "The bounds of the possible in moral matters are less narrow than we think-it is our weaknesses, our vices, our prejudices that constrict them. Base souls do not believe in great men; vile slaves smile mockingly at the word freedom." -Jean-Jacques Rousseau "For if one really believes that such a [final] solution is possible, then surely no cost would be too high to obtain it: to make mankind just and happy and creative and harmonious forever-what could be too high a price to pay for that? To make such an omelette, there is surely no limit to the number of eggs that should be broken…." -Isaiah Berlin "But perhaps…there is a model of [the just city] in the heavens, for anyone who wants to look at it and to make himself its citizen on the strength of what he sees." -Plato

Moreana

T he Utopia Reader is a timely and provocative collection of utopia texts that are drawn, for the most part, from "the Anglo-American utopian tradition" (xi). The collection is a generous one. Many of the selections are from fictional utopias, but others were written as blueprints or constitutions for what are now referred to as intentional commumtJes. In a short but essential introductory chapter, which serves as a preface to the texts that follow and explains their parameters, Claeys and Sargent offer inclusive and elastic definitions of their terms, including utopia, utopianism, and variations of the utopian genre (eutopia, dystopia, utopia satire, anti-utopia, and critical utopia). For them, "social dreaming" (1) is the beginning and the heart of utopianism or the utopian impulse: "that need to dream of a better life, even when we are reasonably content" (2). Subsequently they identify two different utopian traditions, both well represented in this anthology. On the one hand, there are what they call "utopias of sensual gratification," on the other, "utopias of human contrivance" (2). In other words, some aspects of the utopian impulse are mythicdreams of an earthly paradise, arcadia, or golden age, where life is simple and desires are satisfied without any effort on the part of human beings. Cockaigne-where ripe fruit and roasted fowl simply drop into one's open mouth-is viewed as a later development, since gratification occurs in this life rather than in a mythic past or millennia! future. On the other hand, many utopias depend upon human effort and are unimaginable apart from human control. Plato's Republic is an early instance, More's Utopia the crucial text, which gave birth to the utopia as a recognizable literary form or genre. In practice, these divisions are rarely absolute, however, and the insistence upon social order and control may itself be a manifestation

2014

Palgrave Encyclopaedia of the Possible, 2021

In common vernacular, Utopia usually conjures up imaginations of an impossible place marked by its perfection and happiness. However, this represents but one of the many ways in which utopias can be understood. When studied closer, utopian studies scholars have found it hard to reach a consensus on what a utopia is, and what it is for. Broadly speaking, we can find four different ways of understanding utopia: as a literary text; as a blueprint for society; as a critical reflection of the present; and as a simple pursuit for a better life. Crucially, all these categories speak to the possibility of a different way of life, be it elsewhere in space as with early utopian texts, or elsewhere in time as is most common in contemporary utopias. Utopias which exists elsewhere in time speak most directly to what is possible, as placing them in our own future serves to incite us to work toward them, making changes in the present that might approximate this possible future. This is the aim of most living utopian movements todayfrom #Occupy Wallstreet to new gene editing technologywhich not only presents us with a vision for a possible utopia future, but also tells us how to get there, making the possible increasingly tangible.

Clinical Cancer Investigation Journal, 2022

It should be remembered that throughout history, human settlement on our planet has been the main concern of all intellectuals, philosophers, and architects. The pursuit of a style and manner of life in which prosperity, well-being, and happiness are possible has long been one of mankind's aspirations. The terms utopia, monotheistic society, and utopia all refer to an ideal and idealized society whereby a perfect order governs for human enjoyment and is devoid of all vices like poverty and pain. Additionally, its inhabitants are devoid of whims and fancies and have attained the pinnacle of practicality and science. This problem has always preoccupied the thoughts of philosophers, architects, and other thinkers who strive for such a utopia. To learn that the content of western utopias initially stressed worldly and afterlife happiness and over time, according to revolutions, the direction of utopian cities has been functionalist and in response to the daily needs of their society, this research has combined the views of western thinkers and architects with the views and principles of eastern thinkers. While western utopias have also been modeled after eastern utopias, the latter are still primarily founded on religious beliefs, particularly from an Islamic standpoint. However, it should be remembered that while western and eastern utopias differ depending on the genre of literature and location, they are both equally articulated in the principles and ideas of intellectuals, philosophers, and architects.

The core foundation of the 3 Abrahamic monotheist religions relies upon the existence of heaven and hell, of good and evil, of God and Lucifer. Without one, the other cannot justify its existence, for what is darkness but the absence of light. And so must utopia and dystopia exist as such; a turbulent relationship of multifaceted characteristics and attributes, one seeking to annihilate the other, and perhaps becoming the other in the process. There exists a strong connection between the concepts of utopia and dystopia, however between both, a fine line that separates and distinguishes one from the other. The 16 th century saw one of the greatest utopian works of literature created at the hands of Sir Thomas More, Utopia, which served to inspire many sister utopian cities, such as the creation of The City of the Sun by Tommaso Campanella. The 21 st century saw one of the greatest modern dystopian works of literature written by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, which served to inspire many sister dystopian communities, such as the one in Divergent by Veronica Roth. Substantially imperative to the narrative of this exploration is recognizing the natural cycles of perpetuity, whether it be the rebirth of civilizations or the destruction of them, or the births of works of fiction and the rebirth of them in different vessels. This essay argues the need for both utopia and dystopia to co-exist, and outlines the complex and various forms of their relationship through literary exploration.

Green Letters; Studies in Ecocriticism, 2013

2020