The Politics of the (Im)Possible
Utopia and Dystopia Reconsidered
1st Edition
Published on 30. May 2012
Book
Hardback
249 pages
978-81-321-0734-7 (ISBN)
Description
This volume brings together articles on utopia and dystopia in a breadth of disciplines-history, literature, gender studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, and Native American Studies.
Utopia and dystopia are modes and resonances present in all parts of the world, not just Europe and white North America. Equally, utopian and dystopian thought and practice are and have always been gendered. Utopia, memory and temporality often intersect in strange and surprising ways.
Three dimensions are thus central to the enterprise undertaken in this volume:
1 The relationship between utopia/dystopia and time/memory
2 The focus on Europe and areas outside Europe at the same time
3 The gendered analysis of utopia/dystopia
Contributors to this volume include prominent experts in fields as varied as Development Studies, Cultural Studies, Women's Studies and Literature.
Utopia and dystopia are modes and resonances present in all parts of the world, not just Europe and white North America. Equally, utopian and dystopian thought and practice are and have always been gendered. Utopia, memory and temporality often intersect in strange and surprising ways.
Three dimensions are thus central to the enterprise undertaken in this volume:
1 The relationship between utopia/dystopia and time/memory
2 The focus on Europe and areas outside Europe at the same time
3 The gendered analysis of utopia/dystopia
Contributors to this volume include prominent experts in fields as varied as Development Studies, Cultural Studies, Women's Studies and Literature.
Reviews / Votes
The book presents an in-depth philosophical account of why 'utopia has been the mother of exact sciences. Writings of different thinkers on utopia and dystopia display a rather complex interplay between the actual and the possible, dream and reality and ideal or the monstrous communities. A must read -- The Tribune This anthology brings together chapters on utopia and dystopia from a rich breadth of disciplines....What is significant about this volume is that it makes readers realize that utopia/dystopia studies cannot be and are not restricted to any period of time and place. -- The StatesmanMore details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
New Delhi
India
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Weight
413 gr
ISBN-13
978-81-321-0734-7 (9788132107347)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
02/2020
1st Edition
SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd
€69.60
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Person
Barnita Bagchi is faculty in Literary Studies at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. She was previously a faculty member at Institute of Development Studies Kolkata (IDSK), India. She is an Executive Committee Member of the International Standing Conference for the History of Education (ISCHE).
Her published books include Pliable Pupils and Suffi cient Self-Directors: Narratives of Female Education by Five British Women Writers, 1778-1814 (2004); Webs of History: Information, Communication, and Technology from Early to Post-Colonial India (co-edited with A.K. Bagchi and D. Sinha, 2005); and a critical edition and part translation, Sultana's Dream and Padmarag: Two Feminist Utopias.
Her published books include Pliable Pupils and Suffi cient Self-Directors: Narratives of Female Education by Five British Women Writers, 1778-1814 (2004); Webs of History: Information, Communication, and Technology from Early to Post-Colonial India (co-edited with A.K. Bagchi and D. Sinha, 2005); and a critical edition and part translation, Sultana's Dream and Padmarag: Two Feminist Utopias.
Content
Introduction - Barnita Bagchi
PART ONE: UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA: DEBATES AND RESONANCES
Utopia: Future and/or Alterity? - Miguel Abensour
Echo of an Impossible Return: An Essay Concerning Fredric Jameson's Utopian Thought and Gathering and Hunting Social Relations - Peter Kulchyski
Radicalism in Early Modern England: Innovation or Reformation? - Rachel Foxley
Dystopia, Utopia, and Akhtaruzzaman Elias's Novel Khowabnam - Subhoranjan Dasgupta
Palestine: Land of Utopias - Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun
PART TWO: ENGENDERING UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA
'One Darling though Terrific Theme': Anna Wheeler and the Rights of Women - Theresa Moriarty
A Parliament of Women: Dystopia in Nineteenth-century Bengali Imagination - Samita Sen
'Empire Builder': A Utopian Alternative to Citizenship for Early 20th Century British 'Ladies' - Martine Spensky
Ladylands and Sacrificial Holes: Utopias and Dystopias in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's Writings - Barnita Bagchi
Utopia in the Subjunctive Mood: Bessie Head's When Rain Clouds Gather - Modhumita Roy
PART THREE: CONCLUSION
Globalization, Development and Resistance of Utopian Dreams to the Praxis of Dystopian Utopia - Marie-Claire Caloz-Tschopp
Index
PART ONE: UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA: DEBATES AND RESONANCES
Utopia: Future and/or Alterity? - Miguel Abensour
Echo of an Impossible Return: An Essay Concerning Fredric Jameson's Utopian Thought and Gathering and Hunting Social Relations - Peter Kulchyski
Radicalism in Early Modern England: Innovation or Reformation? - Rachel Foxley
Dystopia, Utopia, and Akhtaruzzaman Elias's Novel Khowabnam - Subhoranjan Dasgupta
Palestine: Land of Utopias - Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun
PART TWO: ENGENDERING UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA
'One Darling though Terrific Theme': Anna Wheeler and the Rights of Women - Theresa Moriarty
A Parliament of Women: Dystopia in Nineteenth-century Bengali Imagination - Samita Sen
'Empire Builder': A Utopian Alternative to Citizenship for Early 20th Century British 'Ladies' - Martine Spensky
Ladylands and Sacrificial Holes: Utopias and Dystopias in Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's Writings - Barnita Bagchi
Utopia in the Subjunctive Mood: Bessie Head's When Rain Clouds Gather - Modhumita Roy
PART THREE: CONCLUSION
Globalization, Development and Resistance of Utopian Dreams to the Praxis of Dystopian Utopia - Marie-Claire Caloz-Tschopp
Index