The utopian ideal, in all its variations and versions, in all its degrees of complexity and elaboration, has historically been a fundamental element in the construction of numerous political discourses. While the classical utopia of the Renaissance is inconceivable apart from the problems of modern state formation, at the end of the 18th century, Enlightenment debates were often cloaked in utopian garb, while in the following century, the contradictions of industrial civilization gave rise to a new type of utopian horizon that was inserted in diverse and complex ways into modern political discourse. Finally, the 20th century witnessed both the first global attempts to construct new paradises and the discrediting that, at the end of the century, accompanied their collapse. In the contemporary landscape, marked by an increasingly noticeable systemic crisis, the utopian horizon appears definitively fragmented and susceptible to harboring the most diverse proposals for organizing the world, from radical political-economic criticism tending towards a more just refounding of public life and society, to, at the other extreme, the neoliberal utopia linked to the theses of the "end of history", passing through the Edenic promises of a certain environmentalism.

This congress, therefore, proposes an approach to utopia in its relation to politics, especially in the contemporary world. The complex problems of this pairing—utopia and politics—will be addressed by leading historians, sociologists, philosophers, political scientists, and economists, with the conviction that only a transdisciplinary dialogue such as the one proposed here can advance our critical understanding of contemporary society.

Coordinate Juan Calatrava

PROGRAM

10.05.10 · 19:30
Miguel Abensour The utopian conversion
Vicenc Navarro The importance of knowing the past to understand the present. The Spanish case

11.05.10 · 19:30
Antoni domenech Neoliberal utopias, various quixotic delusions, and actually existing capitalism
Daniel Raventós Is it possible to guarantee the material existence of the entire population?

12.05.10 · 19:30
Patxi Lancers Neverland: Soaring Over Utopia
John Chapoutot Nazism, a utopia?

13.05.10 · 19:30
Jorge Riechmann On the dystopian nature of contemporary capitalism
Mario Dominguez Utopias and dystopias of control

Free admission

Participants who do not wish to obtain a diploma or credits will have access to the congress sessions without prior registration. This access will be subject to the availability of spaces in each session.

Certificate of accreditation and credits

Participants who wish to obtain a diploma must send a form with their information to humanities@circulobellasartes.com along with proof of payment of the fee. Registration will be open from April 22, 2010.

UC3M students will have the credits obtained at the congress recognized with 1 credit of Humanities or free choice.

Registration fee: 40?
Fee for CBA members and UC3M students: 20?

To receive credit recognition and the certificate, attendance at the 90 % of the sessions. CBA members and UC3M students must prove their status by presenting a valid membership card or equivalent document.

Organized by
State Society for Cultural Commemorations (SECC)
Círculo de Bellas Artes (CBA)

Collaborate
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M)
France embassy