Raffaella Baccolini - Böcker

In the mid-seventies, both gender studies and humor studies emerged as new disciplines, with scholars from various fields undertaking research in these areas. The first publications that emerged in the field of gender studies came out of disciplines such as philosophy, history, and literature, while early works in the area of humor studies initially concentrated on language, linguistics, and psychology. Since then, both fields have flourished, but largely independently. This book draws together and focuses the work of scholars from diverse disciplines on intersections of gender and humor, giving voice to approaches in disciplines such as film, television, literature, linguistics, translation studies, and popular culture.

First published in 2003. With essays by an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars, Dark Horizons focuses on the development of critical dystopia in science fiction at the end of the twentieth century. In these narratives of places more terrible than even the reality produced by the neo-conservative backlash of the 1980s and the neoliberal hegemony of the 1990s, utopian horizons stubbornly anticipate a different and more just world. The top-notch team of contributors explores this development in a variety of ways: by looking at questions of form, politics, the politics of form, and the form of politics. In a broader context, the essays connect their textual and theoretical analyses with historical developments such as September 11th, the rise and downturn of the global economy, and the growth of anti-capitalist movements.

First published in 2003. With essays by an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars, Dark Horizons focuses on the development of critical dystopia in science fiction at the end of the twentieth century. In these narratives of places more terrible than even the reality produced by the neo-conservative backlash of the 1980s and the neoliberal hegemony of the 1990s, utopian horizons stubbornly anticipate a different and more just world. The top-notch team of contributors explores this development in a variety of ways: by looking at questions of form, politics, the politics of form, and the form of politics. In a broader context, the essays connect their textual and theoretical analyses with historical developments such as September 11th, the rise and downturn of the global economy, and the growth of anti-capitalist movements.

In the mid-seventies, both gender studies and humor studies emerged as new disciplines, with scholars from various fields undertaking research in these areas. The first publications that emerged in the field of gender studies came out of disciplines such as philosophy, history, and literature, while early works in the area of humor studies initially concentrated on language, linguistics, and psychology. Since then, both fields have flourished, but largely independently. This book draws together and focuses the work of scholars from diverse disciplines on intersections of gender and humor, giving voice to approaches in disciplines such as film, television, literature, linguistics, translation studies, and popular culture.

In 2014, when Lucy Sargisson was promoted to professor in the School of Politics and International Relations, at the University of Nottingham, she became the first and, so far, only, professor of utopian studies. This choice symbolized the centrality of utopianism to her life, thought, and educational practice. In three books, each in their own way groundbreaking, a fourth book co-authored by one of us, and in important articles, her work falls into four primary areas: political theory, feminism, environmentalism, and intentional communities, with much of her work intersecting two, three, or even all four. And in all her work, she brings the lens of utopianism to bear on the subject and, in doing so, illuminates both utopianism and the subject at hand. The volume honors Sargisson’s contributions to the field of utopian studies, with contributions by Ibtisam Ahmed, Raffaella Baccolini, David M. Bell, Suryamayi Clarence-Smith, Chris Coates, Elena Colombo, Davina Cooper, Rhiannon Firth, Ruth Levitas, Sarah Lohmann, Almudena Machado-Jiménez, Dunja M. Mohr, Tom Moylan, Robyn Muir, José Reis, Lyman Tower Sargent, Lucy Sargisson, Simon Spiegel, Maria Varsam, and Laura Winter.

«A piercing critique of imperial culture and climate doomism. Alberro’s Terrestrial Ecotopias is a compelling and penetrating corrective, sketching an ecology of hope beyond the Capitalocene.»(Jason W. Moore, author, Capitalism in the Web of Life)«Utopia is here and now, with our feet on the ground alongside paws, claws and roots. Heather Alberro brings together eco-fictional, radical environmental activist, and Indigenous struggles for an urgent appeal to jointly build better, more-than-human tomorrows — starting today. Artfully weaving intricate analysis and sweeping connections into a passionate book brimming with life, Terrestrial Ecotopias provides us with the blueprints we need for bringing multispecies flourishing into the world through stories and action.»(Christoph Rupprecht, Associate Professor in Sustainability and Global Environmental Studies, Ehime University, co-editor of Multispecies Cities: Solarpunk Urban Futures and Solarpunk Creatures)This book offers transdisciplinary critical analyses of select contemporary manifestations of ecotopianism, asking in particular: whither the otherthan- human? To what extent do these visions and strivings for ecologically sustainable futures actively foreground the needs and wellbeing of our terrestrial kin rather than consign them to a mute backdrop overshadowed by a predominantly human drama?

«Through detailed, elegant interpretations of utopian novels produced in the United States and the Soviet Union, Pavla Veselá casts aside standard commonplaces about East / West cultural divergences and reveals the critical function of utopian fiction that is shared in the two national contexts.»(Michael Hardt, Professor of Literature, Duke University)«It is encouraging to read The Polyphony of Utopia in our cynical and desperate time. By discussing a number of Russian and American utopian novels in the light of ‘utopian realism,’ addressing the uncertainty, anxiety and doubt contained in their visions of hope, Pavla Veselá proves the importance and relevance of the transformation of today’s world toward Utopia.»(Thomas Lahusen, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto)Utopias – literary visions of better, more just and happier communities – have been misconceived as «mere fantasies» on the one hand and «models to implement» on the other. Building on the notion of «critical utopia» and elaborating on interpretations of literary works as contradictory and incomplete, the book analyses selected utopian and dystopian novels by five writers: Edward Bellamy, Alexander Bogdanov, Ivan Yefremov, Marge Piercy and Octavia E. Butler. It argues that departing from the conventions of realism, utopias advance credible visions of more perfect ways of living and being which are nevertheless destabilized through gothic and poetic generic elements. Unresolved issues are further explored in (utopian as well as dystopian) sequels and prequels. The novels analysed in detail include Bellamy’s Looking Backward 2000-1887 (1888) and Equality (1897), Bogdanov’s Red Star: A Utopia (1908) and Engineer Menni: A Novel of Fantasy (1913), Yefremov’s Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale (1957) and The Hour of the Bull (1970), Piercy’s Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) and He, She and It (1991), and Butler’s Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998).

«This relevant, clearly defined study isn’t constricted by its primary focus on late nineteenth-century American utopias, written when inequality flourished. Morris enriches this focus with chronological comparisons to well-known and lesser-known American utopias in other periods; international contexts from non-American authors; and interpretive perspectives by utopian specialists, political scientists, philosophers, and sociologists. But the book’s most striking quality is the variety of reforms identified and discussed. This variety greatly enhances our understanding of utopists’ war on inequality.»(Kenneth M. Roemer, Emeritus Fellow, University of Texas System Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Author of The Obsolete Necessity, Utopian Audiences, and (ed.) America as Utopia«Utopian alternatives to current, persistent and increasing inequality matter: as William Blake said, ‘What is now proved was once, only imagin’d’, and so Donald Morris examines a wealth of possibilities, some outlandish, but all conceivable, and many eminently feasible, from a tradition of literary and imaginative forms of political and social theory. A hopeful and invigorating read.»(Tom Boland, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University College Cork)This work explores what utopian writers have said about economic inequality. Its transdisciplinary focus is literary utopias—novels of social theory—by authors seeking solutions to the problems of economic inequality. The work challenges our moral assumptions about economic inequality—its potential for resolution—or its inevitability and the ultimate bifurcation of society. It is not an economic treatise but an exploration in social philosophy in its utopian expressions. Economic inequality sets arbitrary limits on whose contributions will benefit society, thereby squandering talent, limiting opportunities, and stifling competition—capriciously restricting the pool of competitors—by class or gender or race. As utopian writers envision a future where the extremes of poverty and wealth have been tempered, it is instructive to explore the instruments they employ; by what measures have they defeated poverty or diminished the threats boundless fortunes pose, thereby revitalizing society?

Shockwaves of Possibility explores the deep utopianism of one of the most significant modern cultural practices: science fiction. The author contends that utopianism is not simply a motif in SF, but rather is fundamental to its narrative dynamics. Drawing upon a rich array of theory and criticism in SF and utopian studies, the book opens with a global periodizing history that shows the inseparability of SF from developments in other cultural fields. It goes on to examine literature, film, television, comics, and animation in order to demonstrate SF’s unique effectiveness for grappling with the upheavals brought about by globalization. Shockwaves of Possibility proves SF’s vitality in the brave new world of the twenty-first century, as it illuminates the contours of the present and educates our desire for a radically other future.

Upon its original publication in 1970, Robert C. Elliott’s The Shape of Utopia influenced both some of the major scholars of an emerging utopian and science fiction studies, including Darko Suvin, Louis Marin and Fredric Jameson, and authors of new utopian fiction ranging from Ursula K. Le Guin to Kim Stanley Robinson. The book establishes a deep genetic link between utopia and satire, and offers scintillating readings of classic works by Thomas More, Jonathan Swift, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Aldous Huxley and others. It charts the rise of an insidious «fear of utopia» that comes to characterize the first half of the twentieth century and investigates some of the aesthetic problems raised by the efforts to portray a utopian society, before concluding with brilliant speculations on the emerging practice of «anti-anti-utopia» – the reinvention of utopia for contemporary times. This Ralahine Classics edition also includes a new introduction by Phillip E. Wegner which situates the book in its context and argues for its continued significance today; a 1971 review of the book by the late author of utopian science fiction, Joanna Russ; and an opening tribute by one of Elliott’s former students, Kim Stanley Robinson.

Is the official political silencing of children in a democracy rational and just, or is it arbitrary and capricious? How might democratic polities benefit from the political engagement and activism of young people? Michael Cummings argues that allowing children equal political rights with adults is required by the basic logic of democracy and can help strengthen the weak democracies of the twenty-first century. A good start is for governments to honor their obligations under the ambivalently utopian UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children’s political views differ from those of adults on issues such as race, sex, militarism, poverty, education, gun violence, and climate change. Young activists are now sparking change in many locations around the globe.