Two-day interdisciplinary conference with keynotes by Ali Smith, Kiran Desai and Homi Bhabha on how to imagine and create differently in the face of the climate crisis.
Utopia Now! is taking over the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford on 14 and 15 November, a two-day conference that's part of the Faculty of English's Utopia Now! season. It's the biggest event so far for the Oxford Ministry for the Future, an interdisciplinary network of academics, artists, authors and public thinkers. The whole thing kicks off with Professor Peter Boxall framing the conversation: utopian thought emerges when an old world is dying and a new one has not yet been born, a description he says fits our time powerfully.
Over the two days, the conference asks how we might live, imagine and create differently in the face of climate crisis, political instability and technological upheaval. It brings literary fiction into dialogue with philosophy and critical theory, with panels drawing on the environmental and medical humanities, linguistics, film studies, literary studies and political theory. The line-up of keynotes includes Ali Smith, Kiran Desai and Homi Bhabha, and on the evening of 15 November, Kiran Desai and Homi Bhabha will be in conversation together.
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It's a wide-reaching programme, so you can drop in for a single session or stay across the full two days. The first sessions start at 09:00 on 14 November, and the second day picks up at 11:00 on 15 November. The whole thing closes with a video installation by visual artist Maija Tammi. If you're into the intersection of literature, politics and the environment, this is one to keep on your radar.
Date
14 November – 15 November
09:00
Recommended Age
+18 years
