Overview

Is the utopian project dead? Is it possible to imagine a utopian society or a utopian world in the aftermath of the collapse of ideologies? This book contains eighteen essays which are the result of the 7th International Conference of Utopian Studies held in Spain in 2006, either debating the subject, or suggesting alternative readings to some of the theoretical ideas raised within utopian studies. This volume focuses on the importance of narratives in utopian literature. They define the world we live in and the world we wish to live in. Through narratives of confession, and indeed through silence itself, the unconscious emerges and desire is articulated. The articles in this volume question and challenge the power of the word, the stability of meaning, and the relationship between thought and action in the construction of utopia and dystopia. They also point to the various literary frameworks of utopian and dystopian narratives, thus connecting stories from the past, present and future of both real and imaginary and communities.

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9783039113484

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Author Information

The Editor: Elizabeth Russell is a senior lecturer in British literatures and critical theory in the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain. She has published articles in the area of utopian studies, feminisms and multiculturalisms. Recent publications include Somnis d'Utopies published in Catalan (2007) and two edited volumes of essays: Caught Between Cultures: Women, Writing & Subjectivities (2002) and Loving Against the Odds: Women's Writing in English in a European Context (Peter Lang, 2006). She is also a member of two research groups: GREC (Genere, raca, etnia i classe) and T-CLAA (Transformacions Culturals i Literaries en angles i alemany).

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