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Call for Papers Theme: Utopian Imaginaries Subtitle: Past, Present and Future Type: International Conference Institution: Imagest Project and Department of Modern History, Autonomous Universty of Madrid International Nineteenth-Century Hispanists Network Location: Madrid (Spain) Date: 30.9.–2.10.2015 Deadline: 15.5.2015 __________________________________________________ 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.). Proposal Submission We invite the people interested in participating in the conference to send their proposals by 15th of May 2015 to the e-mail address <[email protected]>, 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. Contact: Juan Pro Ruiz Department of Modern History Autonomous Universty of Madrid Phone: +34 91 497 6659 Email: [email protected] Web: http://imagest.hypotheses.org/903 __________________________________________________ InterPhil List Administration: http://interphil.polylog.org Intercultural Philosophy Calendar: http://cal.polylog.org __________________________________________________
