Utopia And Reality

Since publication of Thomas More‘s Utopia more than five hundred years ago, there has been a steady stream of literary works that depict a better world; positive utopias in film, however, have been scarce. There is a consensus that utopias in the Morean tradition are not suited to fiction film, and research has accordingly focused on dystopias. Starting from the insight that utopias are always a critical reaction to the deficits of the present, Utopia and Reality takes a different approach by looking into the under-researched area of propaganda and documentary films for depictions of better worlds. This volume brings together researchers from two fields that have so far seen little exchange – documentary studies and utopian scholarship – and covers a wide range of films from Soviet avant-garde to propaganda videos for the terror organisation ISIS, from political-activist to ecofeminist and interactive documentaries.

This collection of essays deals broadly with the visual and cultural manifestation of utopian aspirations in Russia of the 1920s and 1930s, while examining the before- and after-life of such ideas both geographically and chronologically.

A fresh examination of the origins, evolution and future of proposals for a UN 'Legion' - a permanent military force recruited, trained and deployed by the UN. This new book shows how this idea has grown, re-emerged and evolved in direct connection with the development of UN international military forces. The legionnaires have been seen as the future representatives of a modern constabulary, international police or humanitarian chivalry. They have also invariably evoked the idea of mercenaries and resurrected fears of supranational government and a 'world army'. Such a force has been unattainable when needed, not needed when attainable, revealing the deficiencies of the international system in the perspective of a particular task. The idea highlights the inadequacy of the means as compared to the objectives, and the limits of the UN's capacity to adapt itself to new challenges. This study examinmes how the project of a UN 'Legion' is conditional on the viability of the original Utopia, and vice versa. It also argues that the extreme polarization of the debate may reflect a tendency to negate the inherent contradictions of reality, reminding us of the historical dimension of the building of an international organization, a 'work in progress'.

The twentieth century was characterized by an obsession with the impulse to be "modern." New times demanded new ideologies and models of social organization that in turn stimulated new forms of art, architecture, photography, film, and design. This beautiful book examines how modernity was expressed in Sweden during the twentieth century. More than two hundred illustrations document the work of artists, photographers, industrialists, designers, and architects whose ideas and practices, rooted within modernism and the modern movement, became a part of the vital heritage for which Sweden is still renowned.The contributors to the volume discuss the impulses behind modernism, the concepts attached to it, and its expression in a variety of media. They consider the work of those artists who at the beginning of the century ventured out to the great European centers, Paris and Berlin, as well as those who stayed at home to depict a society in transition. They also look closely at the work of architects who shaped Swedish functionalism, of designers who created new consumer goods, industrial designs, and unique objects, and of photographers who added their own unique perspectives to the changes in the modern world.

Utopia has long been banished from political theory, framed as an impossible—and possibly dangerous—political ideal, a flawed social blueprint, or a thought experiment without any practical import. Even the "realistic utopias" of liberal theory strike many as wishful thinking. Can politics think utopia otherwise? Can utopian thinking contribute to the renewal of politics? In Political Uses of Utopia, an international cast of leading and emerging theorists agree that the uses of utopia for politics are multiple and nuanced and lie somewhere between—or, better yet, beyond—the mainstream caution against it and the conviction that another, better world ought to be possible. Representing a range of perspectives on the grand tradition of Western utopianism, which extends back half a millennium and perhaps as far as Plato, these essays are united in their interest in the relevance of utopianism to specific historical and contemporary political contexts. Featuring contributions from Miguel Abensour, Étienne Balibar, Raymond Geuss, and Jacques Rancière, among others, Political Uses of Utopia reopens the question of whether and how utopianism can inform political thinking and action today.

The Atomium in Brussels is one of the tourist highlights of Belgium and was built specifically for the World Expo in 1958. Nearly 15,000 workers spent three years building the 2 km2 site, found on the Heysel plateau, seven kilometres northwest of Brussels. The site is best known for a giant model of a unit cell of an iron crystal (each sphere representing an atom), called the Atomium, which decades later remains one of the best known landmarks of Brussels. The 1958 Expo could be said to be a reflection of a changing society and of the economical, technical and social advances towards modernity that paved the way for the age of prosperity the Western World experienced in the sixties. The Expo ran for 6 months and was visited by over 42 million people. The exhibition features archived documents, such as the plans of the 1958 Expo, typical fifties objects, films of the time showing what was going on in the aisles of the Expo, several scale models including the Civil Engineering Arrow and the Place de Brouckère information centre, which transport the visitor back to the world of 58 and the spectacle of this unique event. As a symbol of these years of optimism, Expo 58 left an idyllic picture to the Belgians of a period of hope and utopia that can be discovered or rediscovered through the exhibition. SELLING POINTS: *Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Expo 58 is due to be featured in an exhibition taking place in the Atomium in Brussels. This lavishly illustrated book is the official catalogue that accompanies it *A fascinating look at a period of revolution in many areas of society, this book is perfect for those who wish to be transported to an age of excitement and fresh ideas, as well as those who can remember the fair itself and the anticipation that preceded it 100 b/w + 90 colour illustrations

The book deals with the subject of great relevance in the present scenario, not only in Indian context but in global perspective also. It provides a complete text not only to those students concerning Peace Studies, Education for Peace and Peace: Education but to all those who are interested in Peace Concerns. It has been written in a very lucid and attractive way and presents a systematic account in seven chapters about: * How is Peace a lost paradise amidst the material development of human civilization, * What is Peace (individual, social and global). What are the approaches to peace, * What is the historical development of Education for Peace, * How is teacher a role-model in translating Education for Peace in the reality of class-room and lastly, * Is Education for Peace a Utopia or this may turn to be reality. About The Author: - Pratibha Upadhyay is Professor in the Department of Education, University of Allahabad, Allahabad. In the past, she has served Ewing Christian College Allahabad as lecturer and senior lecturer (1993-2000). She has a brilliant career through out her academic life. She has done her B.Sc. (1971) from Jabalpur University, Jabalpur, M.Sc. (1973) from B.H.U. Varanasi, M.Ed. (1982) and D.Phill. from university of Allahabad. She is gold medalist, JRF and SRF recipient and has been, Pool Officer (CSIR) in the Department of Education, University of Allahabad. Pratibha Upadhyay has written and edited books and Journals on varieties of topics concerning education and social sciences. She is member of national and international societies. She is Vice-President of Innovative Research Association (Allahabad) and is a member of Advisory Board of PRATHAM, U.P. (Internationally reputed NGO). She has participated and presented research papers in the national and international conferences. (Isreal, Bangkik etc). She has great iterest in social work and is involved in writing on peace. Pratibha Upadhyay is blessed with noble family of immenent academics.