Changing the climate: Utopia, Dystopia and Catastrophe
30th August – 1st September 2010
The word ‘utopia’ was famously coined by Thomas More in 1516. However, ideas of utopia have been common throughout literature and philosophy ever since ancient times.
Throughout history, there has been a continuing tension about the ideal utopian society: the domination of nature on one hand, and the desire for reconciliation on the other. By the middle decades of the twentieth century both versions of utopia had fallen into disrepute, displaced by ‘science’ on the political left or by ‘dystopia’ on the political right. From the 1960s, utopian politics in new social movements re-emerged. It found expression in literature and the arts, including architecture, but also in popular culture as science fiction.
The University of Tasmania hosted the first Australian conference on Utopia, Dystopia and Science Fiction in 2001, organised around the theme of Antipodean Utopias. Since then, the Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies (CCLCS) has convened a series of conferences as part of its’ research strength in the areas of utopian and science fiction studies.
Monash Conference Centre
Level 7, 30 Collins Street
Melbourne Victoria
For more details head to the conference website
Category: Conference
