Sparks: Political, Intellectual, and Religious Utopia in the Premodern World
We invite chapter proposals for an edited volume on utopian history. Over the past half- century or so, scholarship about utopia has been predominantly led by the disciplines of literature and political science. With the exception of a few modernists who study socialist accomplishments and progressive thought, professional historians rarely engage in utopian discourse at large or treat utopia as a serious historical subject. Similarly, modern utopia acquired multiple meanings in both fictional and real worlds, but that of earlier centuries is still considered an equivalent to a narrow canon of literary texts, which scholars repeatedly recount and cannot elude. However, we believe that literary utopia, whether Morean or not, was only the tip of the iceberg. Implicit utopian manifestations were ubiquitous throughout the premodern world, appearing in forms such as mental images, theological treatises, legal texts, political agendas, ethical writings, polemical pamphlets, and lived communities. We declare that premodern utopia, rather than a genre, should encompass a much broader scope and become a necessary category of historical understanding. It symbolizes a sincere belief in the possible existence of a better society, shining in the great minds of political reformers, moral philosophers, religious leaders, and sometimes, lay commoners in the deep past. In this spirit, we welcome political, intellectual, and religious historians to unearth hidden utopian visions, or sparks of ideal society thought, in premodern times (pre-1750), worldwide, and to participate in building this new and exciting field of utopian history.
In specific, each chapter will discuss a single utopian case (a figure, a community, or an event, non-literary, and could be non-textual). The author should also comment on the broader period/nation/movement (e.g. Is the Italian Renaissance an epoch of utopiacraft?) and offer some theoretical or methodological grappling with the notion of utopia in the premodern context (how it is connected to and differed from a related term, such as hope, desire, progress, idealism/realism, optimism/pessimism, future/past, imagination, perfection, seclusion, illusion, improvement, political ideal, fantasy, rationality, radicality, etc.). Emerging scholars are encouraged; non-Anglo-American examples are strongly preferred.
Prospective contributors should submit their title and abstract (300-500 words) along with a short bio to co-editors Geoffrey Dipple (University of Alberta) and Václav Zheng (Johns Hopkins University) at utopiansparks@hotmail.com by Jan 12, 2025.
We will notify applicants about our decisions in February, and the full manuscript (7000~8000 words) is due on Nov 12, 2025. We expect the publication of the volume in early 2027.
