Utopian places and wishful replacement

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Abstract

Replacement describes the act of replacing from the verb “replace” and derives from the noun “place”. Etymologically, the word “place” originated in the Greek “plateia hodos” which means “broad” when applied to a way and from the Latin “platea” meaning “open space”. The latter was also the origin of the word “plateia” which in Portuguese it means audience. These etymological origins become thought-provoking as these places are spaces that need audiences. This means the spaces need people to acknowledge their existence. Also, places are spaces that are representational of a culture. So what about imagined places? What can imaginary spaces reveal us about culture? This essay aims to present a new perspective from theories that focus on the importance of the imaginary place and, to reafirm how utopias are a significant part of our cultural narratives. From The Production of Space by Lefebvre to Anderson’s imagined communities, from Goodman’s ways of worldmaking, to Ryan’s possible worlds theory, from Bruner’s narrative construction of reality to Levinas’ literary utopias. We receive knowledge about these imagined worlds through narratives, that can be transmitted through many media and in diverse styles, but the narrative component is a transversal element to communicate these ideal worlds. What are these imagined places? Are the spaces we create in fictional narratives the embodiment of our wishes for another world, aiming for replacement? Is the utopian ideal engaging in terms of replacement and replaceability to be purged from the foul usage through which it was subjected?
Keywords: utopias; worldmaking; imagined communities; replacement; narratives
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 6 Dec 2018
EventVIII Graduate Conference : Replacement Replaceability in Contemporary Culture - School of Human Sciences Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisboa, Portugal
Duration: 6 Dec 2018 → …

Conference

ConferenceVIII Graduate Conference
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityLisboa
Period6/12/18 → …

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