‘Non-western’ Utopian traditions

Abstract

“In the red (dead) heart of Australia / Utopia is a place. / Though it bears a Western name / It is not a Western space. / But a sign that social dreaming / Can have a different face.” / Utopia and utopianism are often perceived to be primarily western constructs - western dreams of a better world, an ideal existence or a fantastic future. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that the definition, design and development of utopian literatures and theories have emerged from western examples of the genre and practice. Whether we consider the dawn of utopia as the moment when Thomas More created the neologism utopia in 1516, or seek its roots further back in Plato's Republic or St Augustine's Cit..