Everyday Utopias

The Conceptual Life of Promising Spaces

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Gender Studies, Feminism & Feminist Theory, Sociology
Cover of the book Everyday Utopias by Davina Cooper, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Davina Cooper ISBN: 9780822377153
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: February 3, 2014
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Davina Cooper
ISBN: 9780822377153
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: February 3, 2014
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

Everyday utopias enact conventional activities in unusual ways. Instead of dreaming about a better world, participants seek to create it. As such, their activities provide vibrant and stimulating contexts for considering the terms of social life, of how we live together and are governed. Weaving conceptual theorizing together with social analysis, Davina Cooper examines utopian projects as seemingly diverse as a feminist bathhouse, state equality initiatives, community trading networks, and a democratic school where students and staff collaborate in governing. She draws from firsthand observations and interviews with participants to argue that utopian projects have the potential to revitalize progressive politics through the ways their innovative practices incite us to rethink mainstream concepts including property, markets, care, touch, and equality. This is no straightforward story of success, however, but instead a tale of the challenges concepts face as they move between being imagined, actualized, hoped for, and struggled over. As dreaming drives new practices and practices drive new dreams, everyday utopias reveal how hard work, feeling, ethical dilemmas, and sometimes, failure, bring concepts to life.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Everyday utopias enact conventional activities in unusual ways. Instead of dreaming about a better world, participants seek to create it. As such, their activities provide vibrant and stimulating contexts for considering the terms of social life, of how we live together and are governed. Weaving conceptual theorizing together with social analysis, Davina Cooper examines utopian projects as seemingly diverse as a feminist bathhouse, state equality initiatives, community trading networks, and a democratic school where students and staff collaborate in governing. She draws from firsthand observations and interviews with participants to argue that utopian projects have the potential to revitalize progressive politics through the ways their innovative practices incite us to rethink mainstream concepts including property, markets, care, touch, and equality. This is no straightforward story of success, however, but instead a tale of the challenges concepts face as they move between being imagined, actualized, hoped for, and struggled over. As dreaming drives new practices and practices drive new dreams, everyday utopias reveal how hard work, feeling, ethical dilemmas, and sometimes, failure, bring concepts to life.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book Men, Mobs, and Law by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book In the Name of Elijah Muhammad by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Obeah and Other Powers by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Colored Amazons by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Beyond Exoticism by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Blacktino Queer Performance by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Gendering the Recession by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Cities Surround The Countryside by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Treasured Possessions by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Working Fictions by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Foundations of World Order by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book On Humor by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Blood, Ink, and Culture by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book Brothers and Strangers by Davina Cooper
Cover of the book The Transformation of Chinese Socialism by Davina Cooper
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy