[H-verkko] CFP: Utopian Imaginaries: Past, Present and Future

[agricola at utu.fi]

Agricolan artikkelipyyntöihin on lähetetty uusi ilmoitus:
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Utopian Imaginaries: Past, Present and Future 
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Call for Papers 

International Conference 

Utopian Imaginaries: Past, Present and Future 

(Madrid, 30 September, 1 and 2 October 2015) 

Organizers: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Imagest project Collaborators:
International Nineteenth-Century Hispanists Network, Department of Modern
History, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (UAM) 

Starting with the massive demonstrations of 15th of May 2011, many events have
highlighted the existence in Spain of an imaginative and rebellious protest
movement responding to the demands of citizens disappointed with conventional
forms of representation and with politicians' management of institutions. Far
from being exclusively Spanish, this current of opinion is linked to a global
resurgence of expressions of nonconformity through channels that are largely
utopian. Despite their variety, these events revive discourses and practices
with a long historical trajectory: the tradition of utopia that was born with
modernity and accompanied the making of national states and the market economic
and social system. This utopian logic was very much present in our recent past,
especially in the 1930s, the 1960s and the 1970s, in the form of social
movements. Despite their often symbolic character, these movements have
represented a point of reference and have contributed more than is generally
assumed to direct social, political and cultural change. 

As an expression of Ernst Bloch’s principle of hope, utopia is necessary in
order to keep society alive and actively engaged in building its future and 

meeting the challenges of each moment, avoiding stagnation in past formulas. It
implies the ability to think things through in a different way and explore in
all directions the possibilities of a better life; it therefore requires an
effort of courage and imagination that shows the vitality of a given society. We
propose to approach its study from all angles: by exploring its intrinsic value,
its permanence as symbols and as models and its influence in shaping the
thought, action and social change. 

By announcing this international conference on Utopian Imaginaries we aim to
establish a link between the past and the present in which the former may help
to understand the sense and the importance of utopia in the modern world and, at
the same time, inspire the development of new utopian perspectives. 

We wish to broaden the scope of and go more deeply into the topics of the first
conference on the Utopian Thought held in Madrid in March 2014, creating a space
for critical dialogue in which the work of researchers intersects with the
presentation of utopian proposals and experiences by social activists. Thus, the
call is directed both to researchers interested in utopian imaginaries from the
perspective of History and other social and human sciences, and to the
spokespeople of movements and experiences who claim a utopian horizon in any
country. 

ORGANIZATION 

The Conference will be held between 30 September (Wednesday) and 2 October
(Friday) 2015 at the Cultural Centre La Corrala in Madrid (C/ Carlos Arniches,
3-5), owned by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. 

It will be organized in a set of plenary sessions and three parallel lines of
specialized sessions: 

1. Political Imaginaries (focused on the analysis of the contributions of
utopian thought and activism to institutional politics). 

2. Circulation of Models (focused on the study of transnational circulation of
experiences and ideas of a utopian nature, and on the ways in which these models
are transferred and re-appropriated). 

3. Utopian Experiences (focused on the analysis of specific experiences of
utopian schemes through the creation of communities, alternative actions, etc.).


TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL 

We invite the people interested in participating in the conference to send their
proposals by 15th of May 2015 to the e-mail address utopias2014 at gmail.com ,
including title, author and abstract between 250 and 500 words. Next to their
name the author/s should indicate the academic institution, organization,
movement or community they represent. 

The conference’s scientific committee will select the proposals according to
their interest and quality, taking into account the space available for each
session. It will then ascribe each of the papers to a plenary session or one of
the three specialized sessions. 



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Ilmoituksen lähetti: Agricola <agricola at utu.fi>
Ilmoitus vanhentuu: 16.5.2015