Utopian Research Articles

Training Future Comrades: Gender Pedagogy and Model Train Sets in the German Democratic Republic

This article investigates how model train sets became a medium for the marketing and development of East German technological utopianism, particularly in order to recruit women into the technical workforce. It begins by contextualizing the role of women in the GDR and their recruitment into engineering. From there, it explores the pedagogical power of East German train sets as well as its cultural impact on children. Finally, this article examines how technological utopianism shaped East German culture and how the model train was only one such effort on the road to the socialist utopia in East Germany.

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

This study focused on alternative dispute resolution and community development in Imo State (2013 – 2022). The study was based on the need to ascertain the relevance of alternative dispute approach in the development of the communities. The researcher developed and used three research objectives, three research questions and three corresponding hypotheses. The study was anchored on social justice theory. Data were collected through primary source (questionnaire) and secondary source (published materials) and the study used survey research approach. The population covered the entire 1,394,800 people from six local governments of the study area (2 from each of the zones in Imo State). The sample was 400 from the entire population, but only 370 copies of the questionnaire were returned from the 400 copies distributed. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentage and the hypotheses were tested using chi-square. It was discovered that there is significant impact of alternative disputes resolution on settlement of kingship disputes in Imo State; there is significant relationship between the alternative disputes resolution mechanism and settlement of land disputes in Imo State; and there is significant effects of alternative disputes resolution on settlement of disputes arising from development project in Imo State. The study concluded that alternative dispute approach is a panacea for dispute resolution in rural communities and if well handled will lead to community development. The work recommended that Alternative disputes resolution strategies should be effectively employed in settling all disputes relating to kingship, land disputes, and community projects so as to achieve community development.

Perspectives of people with HIV on implementing long acting cabotegravir plus rilpivirine in clinics and community settings in the UK: results from the anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-ageist ILANA study.

The equity-focused ILANA study evaluated feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness of delivering on-label two-monthly cabotegravir and rilpivirine (CAB+RPV) injections for HIV-1 therapy in clinics and community settings. The study, which mandated inclusive recruitment, was conducted May-December 2022 at six UK sites. Injections were delivered in clinic (months 1-6), and in clinic or community setting according to patient choice (months 6-12). Surveys were completed at baseline, M4 and M12 using validated measures for feasibility (FIM), acceptability (AIM), and appropriateness (IAM). Primary endpoint: proportion of participants agreeing that the injection and community setting were feasible (FIM>4) at M12. Fourteen participants completed interviews at baseline and M12. Community settings offered by sites included: home visits (n=3), HIV support organisations (n=2), community clinic (n=1). Of 114 participants,54% were female, 70% racially minoritised and 40% aged >50. 27/114 chose to receive injections in community settings. FIM/AIM/IAM scores at M12 were high for the injection (79.0-87.4%) and lower for the community setting (44.2-47.4%) overall. Subgroup analyses indicated differences in scores by gender and ethnicity. Among those who attended the community, FIM/AIM/IAM scores for the community setting at M12 were high (73.1-80.8%). Concerns about stigma, inconvenience, and losing access to trusted clinicians negatively influenced perceptions of receiving injections at community settings, amongst other factors. CAB+RPV injections were considered highly feasible, acceptable, and appropriate, however few chose community delivery. Those that chose community delivery found it highly acceptable and feasible. Further exploration of CAB+RPV delivery in alternative community sites not offered (e.g. primary care or pharmacies) is warranted.

Science Fiction in the Anthropocene

This article catalogs major recent trends in ecological science fiction (sf), focused primarily on sf published after the completion of N.K. Jemisin's paradigm-setting Broken Earth trilogy in 2017. Major subdivisions in the genre include dystopian and antiutopian narratives about climate collapse, technocratic solutionism, reckoning with climate change as a colonial project, intergenerational conflict, and posthuman formulation. Noting that sf both as literary genre and as fan community encompasses a wide range of political perspectives ranging from reactionary hypercapitalism to utopian socialism, the article does not seek to advance any particular political position but rather seeks to name the major currents of political and ethical debate within sf in this moment of ecological crisis. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the way the sf genre, in reframing the present as the history of multiple possible futures, calls on us to act to shape that future toward human thriving.

Escritores nahuas: utopías comunitarias y prácticas sobre los futuros posibles en la Sierra de Zongolica, México

Two Nahua writers’ collectives in Sierra de Zongolica are the topic of this article, which explores how language and literary creation are employed to build utopian community projects. As part of the ongoing struggle against extreme marginalization and discrimination, these writers have developed collective practices and forms of organization with an eye to future projects for social transformation in a historical and social context that is nearly always adverse. Through an oral history and ethnography, the article analyzes the trajectories of the two collectives and explores how utopias and futures are built. The focus here is on the creative practices of the groups and framed within a debate on the processes of building communities and utopian projects for the future.

Unusual times: Remembering Turkey’s long sixties

The two decades spanning from 1960 to 1980 in Turkey marked a period of profound socio-political change, characterized by the emergence of new ideas, movements, and transformations that significantly influenced the entire society. This era, punctuated by three coups d’état and other pivotal historical events, shaped the formative experiences of diverse members of the young generation of time, regardless of their level of involvement. This article seeks to present a pluralistic memory narrative of Turkey’s long sixties, derived from the lived experiences of ordinary people, rather than solely focusing on the perspectives of activist individuals of the time. In doing so, the article aims to provide a more nuanced understanding of Turkey’s long sixties, shedding light on both the violence and utopian ideals that characterized the era. Furthermore, it seeks to contribute to an “agonistic memory” narrative of this contested period by acknowledging its complexity and bringing to light other perspectives alongside the dominant narratives.

Images of the Present and Possible: Analyzing the Climate Movement Through Its Utopias

The article analyzes utopian thinking within the current climate movement, with a particular focus on the Finnish movement, and develops analysis of contemporary society through utopias. Empirically, it is based on material collected in the context of a protest week called ‘Utopia rebellion’, in Helsinki in 2022. We use material such as statements, blog posts, and social media content produced by climate activists, as they aimed to form an idea of utopian society beyond their demands on climate policy. We argue that in order to understand any utopian vision properly, one needs to understand not only how it conceptualizes the ideal society, but also how it (implicitly) interprets the nature and problems of the existing one, and the function of utopias. From this starting point, we develop an analysis of the movement by looking at its utopias, conceptions of the present, and uses of utopias. In the image of the movement formed this way, the key components emerging from the analyses are related to redefinitions of work, reconnecting with one’s community, and the possibilities of identities to flourish.

Post-Humanism: Academic Theory, Social Utopia or the New Ideology of Political Dominance?

Post-Humanism: Academic Theory, Social Utopia or the New Ideology of Political Dominance?

Exploration of large-scale vegetation transition in wet ecosystems: a comparison of conifer seedling abundance across burned vs. unburned forest-peatland ecotones in Western Patagonia

Altered fire regimes, combined with a warmer and drier climate, have been eroding the resilience of temperate rainforests and peatlands worldwide and leading to alternative post-fire vegetation communities. Chronic anthropogenic burning of temperate rainforests at the forest-peatland ecotone in western Patagonia appears to have shifted vegetation communities in poorly-drained sites from forests dominated by the threatened conifer, Pilgerodendron uviferum, to peat-accumulating wetlands covered by Sphagnum mosses. We collected and modeled post-reburn field data using ordinations and hierarchical Bayesian regressions to examine mechanisms through which P. uviferum forests may recover following fire or become locked into alternative development pathways by comparing biophysical factors of a reburned ecotone to those of an unburned (control) ecotone. We found that, (1) the significantly higher densities of P. uviferum trees and seedlings in the forested patches at both the reburned and control sites were associated with significantly lower seasonal water tables, lower cover of Sphagnum mosses and higher cover of other mosses (i.e., not in the Sphagnum or Dicranaloma genera); (2) despite abrupt boundaries in vegetation at both sites, successive fires homogenized the environment at the reburned site; and (3) the distinct life forms and individual species that characterized the understory plant communities across the ecotones affected seedling abundance by shaping microtopography and the substrates available for establishment. Together, our results suggest that fire can push edaphically wet P. uviferum-dominated sites towards a non-forested state by reducing the diversity of microsite structure and composition, thereby placing P. uviferum seedlings in direct competition with Sphagnum mosses and potentially limiting the availability of microsites that are protected from both seasonal inundation and seasonal drought. If wildfires continue under increasingly warmer and drier conditions, the forest-peatland ecotone of western Patagonia may be susceptible to large-scale transformation towards a non-forested state.

Nonprofit Poetry: Lewis MacAdams and the Art of Environmental Bureaucracy

Abstract Poet Lewis MacAdams is widely regarded as a founder of the movement to restore the Los Angeles River, a 51-mile concrete drainage channel that once served as the region’s primary water source. His nonprofit organization Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR) began as a one-off performance art piece in 1985. Scholars in urban planning and geography have addressed FoLAR as a case study for grassroots environmentalism, but little attention has been paid to the interplay between poetry and politics in MacAdams’s work. Given that MacAdams described FoLAR as a “forty-year artwork to bring the Los Angeles River back to life,” it is worth entertaining the quixotic premise that a nonprofit could double as a conceptual artwork or performance poem. If we consider his literary efforts in conversation with his activism, the premise seems less far-fetched. In this essay, I trace MacAdams’s path from the New York School to the poets’ enclave of Bolinas, California, in the 1970s to the concrete banks of the Los Angeles River. I argue that he devised political-poetic strategies to intervene in planning bureaucracies and that FoLAR should be understood as a durational utopian experiment, pursuing transformative possibilities from within dispiriting everyday conditions.

From the Closet to the Center

The Amy Morris Homans Cotillion and Pre-Cotillion created unique and liberatory spaces for many lesbian and allied women attending the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) convention between 1982 and 2014. In this article, we draw on feminist and queer theories to consider the multiple meanings embedded in Cotillion goers’ lived experiences. Memories of planning and participating in these events linger for attendees decades later. The impact of attending ranged from lighthearted appreciation to profound gratitude. The Cotillion events disrupted the oppressive status quo at the AAHPERD convention and within kinesiology in favor of community building, joy, and the celebration of lesbian identities. We explore the disruption of heteropatriarchal norms and the creation of alternative community spaces to learn better from the past and to help create liberatory futures for practitioners and scholars in kinesiology.

Superblock Model for Social Housing in the context of the Modern Movement Review: Lucio Costa’s proposal for Alagados

The approach to the urban development plan by Brazilian architect Lucio Costa for the Alagados neighborhood (1972) emphasizes the dimension of social housing in its urban planning, highlighting the incorporations carried out in response to the revisions of the modern movement. The study contextualizes revisionist approaches in urban plans, focusing on housing clusters in superblocks and their relationship with public facilities, bringing out the organicist paradigm, aiming for flexibility in urban planning. An approach is taken that includes a specific architectural historiography and design theory, reviewing Lucio Costa’s proposal through the analysis of documents, plans, and works. Given the disagreement between social housing policy based on utopian ideals and real estate interests, Lucio Costa’s superblock proposal presents its adaptable morphology, concluding that the implementation of Lucio Costa’s proposal could possibly have provided substantial positive results to Alagados.

An apology for utopia: on the return of utopian constructions to the mainstream sociological theorizing

Utopian thought, the aspiration toward idealized conditions, and the progression toward advancement have historically constituted a cornerstone of the modernist ethos. Sociology, as an intellectual offspring of the modern epoch, has inherently engaged with utopian constructs – directing its gaze towards conceivable societal futures. In the current era where global challenges – such as climate change, social inequality, and populist political movements – present complex social problems, the relevance of utopian thinking in sociology is underscored as a tool for envisioning transformative solutions. Nonetheless, contemporary developments within the discipline signal a marked attenuation of utopian fervor. This paper scrutinizes the factors contributing to the diminished enthusiasm for utopian speculations within sociological theory. The decline is largely attributed to a shift towards postmodern paradigms, characterized by skepticism towards grand narratives and a pervasive mid-20th-century critique of utopianism. Despite this, the heuristic value of utopian thinking as a methodological instrument for social analysis remains substantial. The central thesis advocates for a resurgence of utopian thought within sociological inquiry, proposing that its restoration functions as a potent critical apparatus. Amid pressing societal crises, sociological engagement with utopian ideals is not merely an academic exercise but a practical imperative. It empowers the discipline to envision alternative social configurations, articulate social aspirations, and pragmatically approach their realization. Utopian thought can stimulate innovative policy-making, encourage societal engagement, and help construct resilient social systems in the face of adversity. Presently, Russian sociology, reflective of broader global sociological trends, does not proffer a societal ideal, hence it navigates without direction, merely mapping and interpreting the existing social landscape. This trajectory has practical implications, potentially limiting the discipline’s ability to be prescriptive and proactive. Confronted with this reality, Russian sociologists – and the discipline more broadly – are urged to rekindle the utopian imagination as a pivotal component of their intellectual endeavor. In doing so, they may foster a renewed sense of direction and purpose in the discipline of sociology, making it all the more pertinent in addressing the multifaceted complexities of today’s world.

Recoding Utopian Fellowship in 20th Century Bengal: An Interpretation from the perspective of Socio-Economic Study

The concept of Utopia, originally proposed by Thomas More in 1516, describes an ideal, perfect society. In the 20th century, this idea has been applied to Bengal's social economy, including cooperatives, mutuals, associations, foundations, social enterprises, and paritarian institutions that share common values. Despite political turmoil affecting Bengal since the late 1980s, exploring the Utopian notion can help analyze and develop specific branches of Bengal's socio-economy. This approach may provide a foundation for future progress, potentially establishing a successful social economy in Bengal that, while not perfect, aligns with Utopian principles. Can these sectors effectively embody Utopian ideals in shaping Bengal's socio-economic landscape?

A processual perspective on utopia as a lived social project: the case of a Ghanaian ‘Christian Town’

ABSTRACT How can we understand the concept of utopia when looking at a religious social utopia in practice? To unpack this question, the article retraces the motif of the ‘Christian Town’ or ‘Salem’ in the Apenkwa congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana through more than a century of narratives and practices. Drawing on historical and ethnographic data, the article demonstrates how the utopian religious ideal can function as a powerful symbol for the self-identification of a religious group in practice. It shows how this motif is perpetuated by actors across different cultural and religious backgrounds and over several generations. Most significantly, it shows that all this is quite independent of the ‘success’ or ‘failure’ of the utopian social project itself. Based on these observations, the paper proposes to theorize utopia, in the case of lived social utopias, as both a vision and a process.

An Early Anticipation of Market Socialism? Liberalism, Heresy, and Knowledge in John Stuart Mill's Political Economy of Socialism

John Stuart Mill is considered one of the most important representatives of the classical school of political economy. His intellectual development exhibited a gradual transition toward more socialistic views. This transition was partly the result of his interaction with French utopian socialists, which led Mill to theoretically construct an economic system lying between what is now called market capitalism and revolutionary socialism. For Mill, socialism would be a new organic period after the transitory and critical period of the “stationary state.” This paper delineates the core tenets of Mill's stationary state and presents it as an early anticipation of what from the 1920s on is called “market socialism.” Mill's optimistic vision of the stationary state was based on the spread of associations, the socialization of knowledge among all people, competition, and the importance of individuality. These elements are connected with Mill's idiosyncratic, liberal and utilitarianist vision of (market) socialism which prepares the ground for his socialist utopia based on the ideal “from each according to his capacities; to each according to his needs.”

Unconjugating Community with Fernand Deligny and Jean-Luc Nancy

This article takes as its point of departure unexpected similarities in the ways that the experimental educator, writer and filmmaker Fernand Deligny and Jean-Luc Nancy conceptualize community. Deligny is remembered for his alternative community for non-speaking children with autism, established in the Cévennes in 1967 and founded on the absence of language and relationality as it is commonly understood. This article probes the paradox that in this community we find a rapprochement with Nancy's relational ontology. Drawing on Deligny's theoretical responses to the dynamics he witnessed and the cartographical methods employed to trasce the movements of the children as they roamed, and placing these in dialogue with Nancy's texts on community through the decades, I suggest a kinship between the two thinkers which opens onto broader questions about the relationship between theories and practices of community.

一般論文] 그로테스크 캐리커처

North Korean satirical cartoons in the 1950s were influenced by the Soviet ‘Grotesque caricature.’ It was political and artistic. Grotesque was an effective ideological tool to accuse the public of the denial of imperialism, bureaucracy, and capitalism that hindered socialist utopia and awaken them as the right communists by emphasizing politics and satire through exaggerations, distortions, and metaphors that violated realism. This acceptance of Grotesque aesthetics shows that North Korea enriched the diversity of cartoon forms and was not simply obsessed with realistic descriptions.

CITY-STATE IN THE TREATISE BY J. V. ANDREAE: A VISION OF HARMONY AND ORDER

The article highlights the features of the architecture and urban planning structure of the utopian city-state described by the German theologian Johannes Valentinus Andrea in the treatise «Description of the Republic of Christianopolis» which was written in 1619. The aim of this article is a detailed analysis and graphic reproduction of the urban planning and architectural features of the utopian city described by J. V. Andreae. One of the tasks is to compare the structure of the city-state he recreated with the layout of the utopian settlements of T. More, T. Campanella and A. F. Doni, as those written in approximately the same period and depicting utopian states located on remote islands. Republic of Christianopolis is built in the shape of a perfect square, symbolizing order and rationality. Each side of the city is of equal length, and all the streets are laid out to form a regular, neat grid. In the center of the city there is a large square with a temple. This temple serves as the spiritual and civic nucleus of the city, underscoring the significance of religion and communal life in a utopian society. The city-state is divided into different zones according to their functional purpose. There are separate plots for residential buildings, administrative buildings, scientific institutes and agricultural areas. Such planning reflects a desire for efficiency and organization. Residential buildings are organized in such a way that each family has adequate housing with sufficient space for comfortable living. Gardens are located around the houses, which helps to create a public space for communication and interaction between residents. Despite the utopian nature of the society, the city has defensive structures such as walls and towers, which indicate a desire to protect the city from external threats. The article depicts a schematic general plan of the city of Christianopolis, conventional plans and sections of buildings. A review of the urban design features in J.V. Andreae's utopia compared to those in the works by T. More, A. F. Doni, and T. Campanella reveals common tendencies typical for that era, such as the ideal city shape, a preference for symmetry and centralized planning. It should be highlighted that in the treatise «Description of the Republic of Christianopolis», there is a more distinct zoning of areas and division of the population. J. V. Andrea created a utopian society where scientific knowledge and Christian faith are harmoniously combined. Christianopolis is depicted as a place where education and spirituality are integrated, reflecting the ideals of its era and the pursuit of knowledge. Keywords: utopia, symmetrical planning, urban structure, city fortifications, residential buildings.

From Class Struggle to Conservative Revolution: Andrzej Wajda Censors Tadeusz Junak’s The Palace

“It is an unacceptable film,” Andrzej Wajda said during the approval screening of Tadeusz Junak’s Pałac (The Palace, 1980). Wajda wanted to block the release of the film at all costs. This article asserts that Junak’s vision of history based on class struggle (Marxism) ran counter to the concurrent conservative revolution of which Wajda unexpectedly became the chief cinematic architect. His censorial attack on Junak’s film is evidence of how, in the Solidarity period, at a time when national unity was being built under the banner of Catholic values, artists linked to the democratic opposition suppressed all emancipatory impulses and potential. In The Palace, Junak creates a genealogy of peasant liberation. He does not stop at showing the misery of the serf but also projects various forms of peasant rebellion: mimicry and violence. First, the main character performs someone else’s social class, plays the role of a lord, but cannot erase his own—peasant—identity. Second, the violence that the peasants use against the lords is related to the power of opposition, which is the leaven of politicality. This local case illustrates a wider, global trend—the impending catastrophe of the entire left-wing culture. The counter-revolutionary forces unleashed in the late 1970s anticipated the end of the great socialist utopias that dominated the 20th century.