In this conversation, it will be explored from an ethical and utopian perspective our current global challenges and their (im)possible solutions in light of these hopes and missed opportunities since the early months of the pandemic. As our timeline lines up one dystopian scene after another—the pandemic, the war, the energy crisis, the rise of authoritarianism—(pop) culture and literature have turned to utopian thought to grapple with a crisis-ridden world. On screen, for example, shows like The Good Place (2016-2020) or Severence (2022-) insist on the ethics of personal choice in the everyday as an inflection point for larger utopian (and dystopian) implications. In the same vein, Ursula K. Le Guin writes in her post-capitalist utopia Always Coming Home (1985): “Accidents happened to people, but what people did they were responsible for.” As humanities scholars, the conversation will be drawing on the utopian imagination to ask how we may help usher in a livable future through a critical engagement with the now.

The theme will be presented and discussed by: Manuel Sousa Oliveira (he/him) (co-host), University of Porto / CETAPS
Tobias Annamalay Jochum (he/him) (co-host), JFKI / FU Berlin
Guest speakers: Julia Gibson (they/she), Antioch University and Rhiannon Firth (she/her), UCL Institute of Education