Reference sources, which include entries in dictionaries and encyclopedias, are great background sources that introduce new ideas and academic concepts when you’re beginning your research. These sources will explain what a term means to researchers, and include citations and references that you can follow to find more in-depth information. They can be a good place to find keywords and synonyms if you want to search for more detailed information.
You can watch this Research with Reference Sources video to learn more about using reference sources.
Historical Dictionary of Utopianism by
Utopian thinking embraces fictional descriptions of how to create a better (but not a perfect) alternative way of life as well as intentional communities (that is, groups of people leading lives in small communities for their own betterment and the betterment of others). The first edition almost exclusively dealt with the intentional-community side of utopianism; this second edition offers a much more inclusive definition of the key term utopia by offering a great many entries devoted to describing fictional or literary utopian works. It is also heavily illustrated with plates from utopian works, especially those from the heyday of utopianism in the late nineteenth century. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Utopianism contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on broad conceptual entries; narrower entries about specific works; and narrower entries about specific intentional communities or movements. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Utopianism.
The Dictionary of Alternatives: Utopianism and Organization by
'There is no alternative to free market liberalism and managerialism', is the orthodoxy of the twenty-first century. All too often, ordinary people across the world are being told that the problem of organization is already solved, or that it is being solved somewhere else, or that it need not concern them because they have no choices. This dictionary provides those who disagree with the evidence.Using hundreds of entries and cross-references, it proves that there are many alternatives to the way that we currently organize ourselves. These alternatives could be expressed as fictional utopias, they could be excavated from the past, or they could be described in terms of the contemporary politics of anti-corporate protest, environmentalism, feminism and localism.Part reference work, part source book, and part polemic, this dictionary provides a rich understanding of the ways in which fiction, history and today's politics provide different ways of thinking about how we can and should organize for the coming century.
Some useful sources can be found outside of the library. The sources on this list are created by academic researchers, and can include more plain language than some library sources. If you search for website sources on your own, evaluate them carefully to see who wrote them and why.
The NYU Shanghai Library Catalog is a single search where you can find all sorts of sources - books, videos, journal articles, news articles, and more. From the library's home page you can search with your keywords in the Catalog Search box.
These books are written by one or more authors as a single text about one topic. The ones included in this list are academic books about utopia.
Utopianism: a Very Short Introduction by
There are many debates about what constitutes a utopia. Are utopias benign or dangerous? Is the idea of utopianism essential to Christianity or heretical? What is the relationship between utopia and ideology? In this Very Short Introduction, Lyman Sargent, one of the leading scholars in the field of utopian studies, explores these issues and examines utopianism and its history, discussing the role of utopianism in literature and in the development of colonies and in immigration. The idea of utopia has become commonplace in social and political thought, both negatively and positively. Sargent notes that some thinkers see a trajectory from utopia to totalitarianism, with violence an inevitable part of the mix. Others see utopia directly connected to freedom and as a necessary element in the fight against totalitarianism. In Christianity, utopia is labeled as both heretical and as a fundamental part of Christian belief, and such debates are also central to such fields as architecture, town and city planning, and sociology among many others. Sargent addresses all these issues in this clear, compact introduction.
Utopias: a brief history from ancient writings to virtual communities by
This brief history connects the past and present of utopian thought, from the first utopias in ancient Greece, right up to present day visions of cyberspace communities and paradise. Explores the purpose of utopias, what they reveal about the societies who conceive them, and how utopias have changed over the centuries Unique in including both non-Western and Western visions of utopia Explores the many forms utopias have taken - prophecies and oratory, writings, political movements, world's fairs, physical communities - and also discusses high-tech and cyberspace visions for the first time The first book to analyze the implicitly utopian dimensions of reform crusades like Technocracy of the 1930s and Modernization Theory of the 1950s, and the laptop classroom initiatives of recent years
The Palgrave Companion to North American Utopias by
The Palgrave Companion to North American Utopias is a fascinating virtual catalogue of utopian societies and communes from past to present. The authors assert that the formation of a utopian society is both possible and feasible and give examples of how to create one of our own.
Searching for Utopia by
Aspirations for a better--even a perfect--society have existed throughout history. Utopias have been imagined in intricate detail by, among others, philosophers, poets, social reformers, architects, and artists. Gregory Claeys, a leading scholar in the field, surveys the influence of the idea of utopia on history, literature, art, architecture, and religious and political thought. Central to his exploration of ideal worlds are creation myths; archetypes of heaven and the afterlife; new worlds and voyages of discovery; ages of revolution and technological progress; model communities and kibbutzim; political and ecological dystopias; space travel and science fiction. The most significant utopias throughout history--whether envisaged or attempted--are covered, including visions of the ideal society in Asia, Africa, the Arab world, and the Americas, as well as the ancient and Western worlds. Complete with a wealth of photographs, paintings, engravings, maps, documents, posters, and film stills, as well as comprehensive notes and a bibliography, this volume is a compelling and insightful exploration of the rich diversity of the utopian imagination.
The Utopia Reader by
Utopian literature has given voice to the hopes and fears of the human race from its earliest days to the present. The only single-volume anthology of its kind, The Utopia Reader encompasses the entire spectrum and history of utopian writing-from the Old Testament and Plato's Republic, to Sir Thomas More's Utopia and George Orwell's twentieth century dystopia, Nineteen Eighty-Four, through to the present day. The editors of this definitive collection demonstrate the various ways in which utopias have been used throughout history as veiled criticism of existing conditions and how peoples excluded from the dominant discourse-such as women and minorities-have used the form to imagine empowering alternatives to present circumstances. An engaging tour through the dissident, polemic, and satirical tradition of utopian writing, The Utopia Reader ultimately provides a telling portrait of civilization's persistent need to imagine and construct ideal societies.
Invoking Hope by
An appeal for the importance of theory, utopia, and close consideration of our contemporary dark times What does any particular theory allow us to do? What is the value of doing so? And who benefits? In Invoking Hope, Phillip E. Wegner argues for the undiminished importance of the practices of theory, utopia, and a deep and critical reading of our current situation of what Bertolt Brecht refers to as finsteren Zeiten, or dark times. Invoking Hope was written in response to three events that occurred in 2016: the five hundredth anniversary of the publication of Thomas More's Utopia; the one hundredth anniversary of the founding text in theory, Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics; and the rise of the right-wing populism that culminated in the election of Donald Trump. Wegner offers original readings of major interventions in theory alongside dazzling utopian imaginaries developed from classical Greece to our global present--from Theodor Adorno, Ernst Bloch, Alain Badiou, Jacques Derrida, Fredric Jameson, Sarah Ahmed, Susan Buck-Morss, and Jacques Lacan to such works as Plato's Republic, W. E. B. Du Bois's John Brown, Isak Dinesen's "Babette's Feast," Kim Stanley Robinson's 2312, and more. Wegner comments on an expansive array of modernist and contemporary literature, film, theory, and popular culture. With Invoking Hope, Wegner provides an innovative lens for considering the rise of right-wing populism and the current crisis in democracy. He discusses challenges in the humanities and higher education and develops strategies of creative critical reading and hope against the grain of current trends in scholarship.
In these books, each chapter is written by different academic authors and focuses on a specific topic or example under the main concept of the collection. This list includes some books about utopias generally, and some with more specific sub-topics. Edited volumes can be a good place to find interesting research topics.
Exploring the Utopian Impulse by
Exploring the Utopian Impulse presents a series of essays by an international and trans-disciplinary group of contributors that explores the nature and extent of the utopian impulse. Working across a range of historical periods and cultures, the essays investigate key aspects of utopian theory, texts, and socio-political practices. Even as some critique Utopia, others extend its reach beyond the limits of the modern western tradition within which utopianism has usually been understood. The explorations offered herein will take readers over familiar ground in new ways as well as carry them into new territories of hope and engagement.
Thinking Utopia by
After the breakdown of socialist and communist systems in the East, it had become fashionable to declare the so-called "end of utopia" ("end of history," "end of narratives"). The authors of this volume do not share this view but think that it is time to rehabilitate utopian thought. The political concept of Utopia that has given its name to these transcendental projections onto the world has been too narrow to describe and analyze the moving forces of the mind perceiving human existence beyond reality. By broadening the perspectives of utopian studies, these essays enable the reader to reconstruct scholarly paradigms and strategies of utopian, complex and holistic thinking in modern cosmology, philosophy, sociology, in literary, historical and political sciences, and to compare traditions and ways of Western utopian thought to the practice in the East.
Viable Utopian Ideas by
Utopias - whether philosophical, literary, or actual experiments - are attempts to solve all social problems. In the wake of the attack on the World Trade Center, unfolding corporate scandals, and other devastating shocks, it is natural to search for practical lessons in utopian literature. In this collection noted sociologists renew the call to develop an altruistic social order. They address a wide variety of topics as they look for viable utopian ideas that can be applied to today's society. Written in an engaging, jargon-free style, and directed to introductory sociology students as well as anyone concerned with social problems, the book provides both visionary ideals and insights for pragmatic decision-making as we venture into an uncertain future.
Utopia Matters: theory, politics, literature, and the arts by 
The Politics of The (Im)Possible: utopia and dystopia reconsidered by
This volume brings together articles on utopia and dystopia in a breadth of disciplines-history, literature, gender studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, and Native American Studies. Utopia and dystopia are modes and resonances present in all parts of the world, not just Europe and white North America. Equally, utopian and dystopian thought and practice are and have always been gendered. Utopia, memory and temporality often intersect in strange and surprising ways. Three dimensions are thus central to the enterprise undertaken in this volume: 1 The relationship between utopia/dystopia and time/memory 2 The focus on Europe and areas outside Europe at the same time 3 The gendered analysis of utopia/dystopia Contributors to this volume include prominent experts in fields as varied as Development Studies, Cultural Studies, Women′s Studies and Literature.
Transgressive Utopianism by
In 2014, when Lucy Sargisson was promoted to professor in the School of Politics and International Relations, at the University of Nottingham, she became the first and, so far, only, professor of utopian studies. This choice symbolized the centrality of utopianism to her life, thought, and educational practice. In three books, each in their own way groundbreaking, a fourth book co-authored by one of us, and in important articles, her work falls into four primary areas: political theory, feminism, environmentalism, and intentional communities, with much of her work intersecting two, three, or even all four. And in all her work, she brings the lens of utopianism to bear on the subject and, in doing so, illuminates both utopianism and the subject at hand. The volume honors Sargisson's contributions to the field of utopian studies, with contributions by Ibtisam Ahmed, Raffaella Baccolini, David M. Bell, Suryamayi Clarence-Smith, Chris Coates, Elena Colombo, Davina Cooper, Rhiannon Firth, Ruth Levitas, Sarah Lohmann, Almudena Machado-Jiménez, Dunja M. Mohr, Tom Moylan, Robyn Muir, José Reis, Lyman Tower Sargent, Lucy Sargisson, Simon Spiegel, Maria Varsam, and Laura Winter.
Utopia and Utopianism in the Contemporary Chinese Context by
Utopia and Utopianism in the Contemporary Chinese Context: Texts, Ideas, Spaces decisively demonstrates the extent to which utopianism has shaped political thought, cultural imaginaries, and social engagement after it was introduced into the Chinese context in the nineteenth century. In fact, pursuit of utopia has often led to action--such as the Chinese Revolution and the Umbrella Movement--and contested consequences. Covering a time span that goes from the late Qing to our days, the authors show that few ideas have been as influencing as utopia, which has compellingly shaped the imaginaries that underpin China's historical change. Utopianism contributed to the formation of the Chinese state itself--shaping the thought of key figures of the late Qing and early Republican eras such as Kang Youwei and Sun Yat-sen--and outlived the labyrinthine debates of the second half of the twentieth century, both under Mao's rule and during the post-socialist era. Even in the current times of dystopian narratives, a period in which utopia seems to be less influential than in the past, its manifestations persistently provide lifelines against fatalism or cynicism. This collection shows how profoundly utopian ideas have nurtured both the thought of crucial figures during these historical times, the new generation of mainland Chinese and Sinophone intellectuals, and the hopes of twenty-first-century Hong Kong activists.
Performing Utopias in the Contemporary Americas by
This book offers an innovative examination of the utopian impulse through performance as a proposition of practical engagement in the contemporary Americas. The volume compiles unique multidisciplinary and exploratory texts, applying diverse critical and artistic approaches. Its contributors reconceptualize utopia as a creative and theoretical method based on a commitment to sociopolitical transformation. Chapters are organized around notions of mapping utopias, indigenizing practices, political manifestations, and the construction of social identities.
Existential Utopia by
Radical political thought of the 20th century was dominated by utopia, but the failure of communism in Eastern Europe and its disavowal in China has brought on the need for a new model of utopian thought. This book thus seeks to redefine the concept of utopia and bring it to bear on today's politics. The original essays, contributed by key thinkers such as Gianni Vattimo and Jean-Luc Nancy, highlight the connection between utopian theory and practice. The book reassesses the legacy of utopia and conceptualizes alternatives to the neo-liberal, technocratic regimes prevalent in today's world. It argues that only utopia in its existential sense, grounded in the lived time and space of politics, can distance itself from mainstream ideology and not be at the service of technocratic regimes, while paying attention to the material conditions of human life. Existential Utopia offers a new and exciting interpretation of utopia in contemporary culture and a much-needed intervention into the philosophical and political discussion of utopian thinking that is both accessible to students and comprehensive.
Journal articles usually introduce new research on specific topics. They can be very useful when you have read a bit about your topic and you have questions about specific details or situations.
You can find journal articles using the Library Catalog Search. On the search results page, use the "Resource Type" filter to limit your results to "Journal Articles".
These journals focus on the topic of Utopia. You can look through the articles to see if certain articles or topics look interesting or useful for your research.
Sometimes, academic databases have sources that aren't available in the library catalog. This database can be a good place to expand your search if you're looking for a very specific topic. If you need help searching, ask a librarian!
Vanessa Lawrence is the NYU Shanghai librarian who provides support for EAP classes, including yours. Contact her by email or book an appointment if you need research support. Some other options for help are also listed here.
