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Monographic journal issue
open access peer reviewed

Progetti per l’Umanità. Rivoluzioni, Utopie e Ingegneria Sociale

edited by

Luca Cortesi Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia

Cristina Cugnata Università Ca' Foscari Venezia

Lucio De Capitani Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia

Giulia Frare Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia

Alice Girotto Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia

Serena Vianello Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia

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Language: de, it, en

Published: Nov. 27, 2019

abstract

Progetti per l’Umanità. Rivoluzioni, Utopie e Ingegneria Sociale (Projects for Humankind. Revolutions, Utopias and Social Engineering) explores a variety of plans and attempts to transform human beings into something different and better. In particular, it engages with utopian thinking and its ineludible counterpart, dystopia; with moments of political, cultural or philosophical revolution aimed at triggering profound shifts in human life; and with different projects of social engineering to be accomplished through a variety of means such as education, propaganda or alterations to the human body or mind. The case studies included in this volume range from the 18th century to the present day, and involve disciplines such as literary and film studies, philosophy, political science and cultural history. In particular, the volume features essays on the following topics: mythology in German Romanticism; Martin Heidegger’s eschatology; Francesco Saverio Salfi’s essay on the 1783 earthquake in Calabria; the scapigliati writers Carlo Dossi and Giovanni Faldella; the utopian production of positivist anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza; the Proletkul’t movement; early Soviet children’s magazines; the political implications of Russian linguaculturology (lingvokul’turologija); Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’s Dianetics; Zulu intellectual and writer Herbert Dhlomo’s speculative fiction; “self-management” (autogestione) and the Italian Socialist Party in the 1970s; the current debate on surrogate motherhood; and Terry Gilliam’s dystopian film trilogy. Through these multiple perspectives, the volume argues that human projectuality is an anthropological constant throughout history that is both necessary for human existence and simultaneously fraught with dangers; and that it is therefore a crucial category to analyse reality and fiction alike.

Keywords

Jacobinism • Technological utopianism • Dystopia • Superstition • Female reification • Children’s literature • Surrogate motherhood • Theory of History • Legitimation crisis • Cinema • Lingvokul’turologija • Voltaire • Paolo Mantegazza • Industrial democracy • Self-management • Terry Gilliam • History • Proletarian writers • Early 20th century • Earthquake • Soviet culture • Paternalism • Aristotle • Socialism • Eschatology • Expressionism • Science fiction • Freemasonry • Neoliberalism • Anthropology • Patriarchy • F • Revolution • Russian revolution • Italian positivism • Sexuality • Proletkult • Russian language • Linguistics • Russian identity • Salfi • South Africa • Messianism • Sublimity • Calabria • E • Short story • Theatrality • Utopian projects • Kinesis • Colony • Middle-class • PSI • Utopia • H • Bogdanov • Spectacle • German Romanticism • New mythology • Neoliberal ideology • Romantic love • Barbarity • Dhlomo • Island • National character • Schlegel • Mission literature • Magazines • I • Heidegger • Soviet Russia • Technocratic culture • Apocalypse • Human mind

permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOc/2499-1562/2019/07

Copyright: © 2019 Luca Cortesi, Cristina Cugnata, Lucio De Capitani, Giulia Frare, Alice Girotto, Serena Vianello. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.