Arts, Politics and Social Movements

As reflected in the title of the book, the contributions here describe a series of artistic and activist actions in different places sing different forms of aesthetic styles to challenge the existing order of things. Nine chapters present specific situations in Europe and the US in a multilocal dialogue.

This multifaceted collection questions contemporary ideas and actions in the face of the Great Transition. It offers a suite of case studies that are linked by elective affinities, an immediate and intuitive accordance between both the activists and the authors despite their differences. All actors tend to reflect a similar concern for their direct environment in proposing and documenting utopian forms which are also dealing with the past and present with a form of tenderness for the “here and there”.

This shared sympathetic interest explains why the book also corresponds to a form of engaged scholarship. The chapters contribute to the long roll of historical debates and conflicts on “what is to be done” at present and in the near and distant future.