‘Above all, we need to understand utopia as a method rather than a goal … always suspended between the present and the future, always under revision, at the meeting point of the darkness of the lived moment and the flickering light of a better world, for the moment accessible only through an act of imagination.’ – Ruth Levitas

In this exciting half-day symposium five scholars will share insights from work which variously addresses ‘utopian methods’ (Levitas, 2013), employing speculative, creative, and collaborative research methods to imagine more just futures.

Molly Ackhurst will reflect on the use of collage in narrative interviews about what is wanted after sexual violence, and the things that get in the way of these desired outcomes. Aiming to trouble clear-cut ideas of the imagination as a site of freedom and instead encourage greater reflexivity on stuckness within our collective and individual imaginings.

Inspired by Black Studies and Indigenous and feminist scholars, Sarah Armstrong will consider the political and utopian potential of not doing and everyday forms of resistance.

Akwugo Emejulu and Francesca Sobande will reflect on how Janus-faced intersectional vulnerabilities are experienced and made sense of by Black and women of colour feminist activists in Europe. Exploring how collage and remix practices help us think about speculative feminist practices of freedom.

Miranda Iossifidis will discuss experiences of working with online reading groups and zine-making workshops as collective, creative and generative ways of engaging with speculative fiction and negotiating climate crisis present(s) and futures.

The symposium is free to attend, and lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Image: Don Davis's 1970s illustrations for NASA

If you have any questions please contact organisers, Phil Crockett Thomas philippa.thomas@glasgow.ac.uk or Margaret Malloch m.s.malloch@stir.ac.uk

SCCJR Symposium: Imagined Futures and Utopian Methods