Utopia

[close] Reading all the time!

[close] This January 19, 6-8 p.m. (MST), I am hosting a discussion on why we read and write science fiction. Like many voracious readers, I loved this field as a teenager, and I am sure the genre helped shape my thinking about the world. But then I stopped reading science fiction for many decades. This seems a common pattern. Now my own debut eco sci-fi about panpsychism and a Paleoterrific future, Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Yucca/Skyhorse Publishing), is just out, and I have five of the best science fictions from 2015 on my kindle, waiting and whispering to me in the night. My favorite recent sci-fi are Station 11 and The Water Knife. I think the genre is about to have a renaissance! Feel free to post your thoughts before or after the discussion date, although I will likely wait for that Tuesday.

[close] This group is for exchanging thoughts about science fiction and fantasy stories that show humanity at our best and project healthy, inclusive, and diverse possibilities of forms of local and world community. For dystopia, just read the news. We want fiction that gives us a sense of hope, meaning, and purpose.

[close] This group is for anyone interested in Utopian and Dystopian Literature to discuss anything from Thomas More's Utopia to present day fiction. Everyone is welcome, including experts or those who are completely new to the genre and want to know more! Utopian fiction depicts imagined societies that display speculative improvements to the real society in which they were written. Although not always perfect, and more often than not unfeasible, the societies of Utopian fiction emit optimism for a better way of living. Dystopian fiction, or anti-utopia, on the other hand, depicts alternative societies where negative developments dominate. These pessimistic depictions are often warnings of the perceived dangers at the time of writing, particularly influenced by the rapid development of science, and the realisation of its destructive powers following the First World War. Perhaps the fundamental interest of Utopian and Dystopian Literature lies in its relationship to the time it was written, whether it is a symbol of a society’s optimistic faith in progress or the growing fear of the destructive nature of mankind. The books chosen for the group's to-read shelf are a selection from the ‘Key works’ list from The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature, plus suggestions from group members