Beyond the Utopia/Dystopia dichotomy

CALLFORPAPERSWinterSession2017
BeyondtheUtopia/Dystopiadichotomy
StudyCircle8ComparativeFuturologies
WinterSymposium:24-26February2017inWroclaw,Poland
Invitation
Weinvitescholars,students,academicsandartistsfromallfieldstotakepartinourstudy
circle,amigratorynon-hierarchicalgroupofpeopledevelopedwithintheNordicandBaltic
frameworkofNordicSummerUniversity(NSU).SinceNSU’sinception,theprimaryaimhas
beentoprovideaforumforexperimentationandcross-disciplinarycollaborationwelcoming
membersbothfromwithinandoutsideofuniversitiesandotherinstitutions.
Theme:ThefuturebeyondUtopia/Dystopia
Intheyearofthe500thanniversaryofthepublicationofThomasMore’sUtopia,wewantto
challengethedichotomyofutopiaanddystopia.Isthisdifferenceprimarilyamatterof
perspective?AftertheColdWarandthecollapseoftheSovietUnion,capitalismandliberal
democracyappearedastheonlypossiblewaytoimaginethefuture.Communismhad
claimedtobeanalternative,buthadfailedmiserably.“Thereisnoalternative,”Margaret
Thatchernotoriouslyproclaimed.InhisbookCapitalistRealism,MarkFisherdescribeshow,
inthewakeofthecollapseofEasternEurope,evenimagininganalternativewouldbe
considereddelusional.Thealternativewasadirectroadtolaborcampsandtotalitarianism,
sowewerebetteroffnotimagininganyotherfuturethantheonecapitalismhadlaidout
forus.Itwouldseemliketheonlyliablewaytoimaginethefuturewouldbethedystopian
alternative;Orwell’s1984,Huxley’sBraveNewWorldorBradbury’sFahrenheit451were
therealistdepictionsofwhatthefuturewouldbelike,shouldweoptforanalternativeto
capitalismandliberaldemocracy.However,capitalismisnotwithoutitsdystopias.A
numberofsciencefictionfilmshavegivenusbleakimagesofafuturethatliesaheadofus,
shouldwenotradicallychangeourwayofliving.Thinkofthepost-apocalypticsceneryof
MadMaxortheover-populatedandpollutedLosAngelesofBladeRunner.Itseemstohave
becomedifficulttoimaginethefutureasaplaceuponwhichtoprojecthopesanddreams
ofabetterworld.Fromthisseveralquestionsmightarise:isittimetostartre-imaginingthe
future?Aredystopiasandutopiasthatdifferent,oristhisdifferenceprimarilyamatterof
perspective?Andisitpossibletoimagineacapitalisttotalitariansystem?Therecentsuccess
ofMadMax:FuryRoadasa“feministplaybookforsurvivingdystopia”(asLauriePennyhas
putit)mightsuggestthatthereare–afterall–alternatives.
Examplesofrelatedtopicscouldbe:
-Utopias/dystopiasreflectedinliterature,filmandotherartisticmedia.
-Historyofutopiasordystopias.
-Utopianordystopianpracticesindesign,architecture,engineeringetc.
-Cognitivefunctionsofutopian/dystopianthinking.
-Posthuman/transhuman/non-humansocieties.
-Formsofutopianfundamentalism.
-Isutopiastillaproductivemetaphortoday?
Comparative Futurologies is a study circle that investigates and discusses different
perspectives on the future. The perspectives include understandings of scientific futures,
cultural imaginations of futures, and artistic productions of future. We believe that
comparingthesedifferentperspectiveswillunearthoriginal,cross-disciplinaryapproachesto
future thinking. We welcome participants from multiple scholarly backgrounds such as
cultural studies, natural sciences, engineering, biotech etc. as well as from various artistic
backgrounds.Wehaveafacebook-groupnamed‘ComparativeFuturologies’.
Formatofthepresentation
We strongly encourage you to craft a format that suits your presentation, however some
suggestedformatsare:e.g.5minutespresentationand25minutesdiscussion;15minutes
presentation and 15 minutes discussion or 30 minutes presentation and ten minutes
discussion.Maximumdurationofpresentation+discussion:40min.
Tosubmitaproposalpleasesendviaemailtothecoordinators
LarsYlander:[email protected]
AnssiHynynen:[email protected]
1. Awrittenproposal(350words)withatitleanddescriptivesubtitle.Thistextshould
include your presentation proposal, its format its duration, facilities you need (i.e.
technicalequipment)
2. Ashortbio(200words)
Ifyouwouldliketoattendthesymposiumwithoutpresenting,pleaseemailashortbio.
Thestudycircleprovidesaspacefortheoreticalexperimentationandthecross-fertilization
of methodologies. It aims at developing insights that can be used in further research.
We invite you for a weekend of exchange and debate in an open environment of people
with different backgrounds. Presentations are meant to be rather short, while discussions
pursuingideasarecentralforthecircleandwillbegivenconsiderablespace.
The deadline to submit proposals is 1 December 2016. The preliminary program will be
announced on January 15, 2017 on nordic.university where you can also find more
informationaboutNSUandsignupforthenewsletter.
Applicationprocessandregistration:
Theapplicationprocesshastwosteps:
(1) Application to coordinators for acceptance. Application starts 1st of September and
closeson1stofDecember.
(Ifyouwishtoparticipatewithoutpresentationyoucanapplyuntil15thofDecember.Also,
youcanstillapplylateincaseofvacantslotsbycontactingthecoordinatorsandsubmitting
anabstract.)
(2)Afteryouhavebeenaccepted,thenextstepisregistrationandpayments,whichcloses
on15thofJanuary.Allregistrationandpaymentwillbedoneviamailandbanktransfer.
For any questions about presentation, registration and NSU, please contact coordinators:
[email protected]@abo.fi.
Arrival:24February2017
Departure:26February2017
TheNordicSummerUniversity(NSU)isaNordicnetworkforresearchandinterdisciplinary
studies.NSUisanomadic,academicinstitution,whichorganisesworkshop-seminarsacross
disciplinary and national borders. Since it was established in 1950, Nordic Summer
UniversityhasorganisedforumsforculturalandintellectualdebateintheNordicandBaltic
region, involving students, academics, politicians, and intellectuals from this region and
beyond.
DecisionsaboutthecontentandtheorganisationalformoftheNSUliewithitsparticipants.
ThebackboneoftheactivitiesintheNSUconsistsofitsthematicstudycircles.Inthestudy
circles researchers, students and professionals from different backgrounds collaborate in
scholarlyinvestigationsdistributedregularlyinsummerandwintersymposiaduringathreeyearperiod.
Formoreinformationwww.nordic.university