Utopian Studies in Greece Today: A Brief Survey

Abstract

In the first section, this article offers a sketch of tendencies in the engagement with utopia and utopianism in contemporary Greece: after dwelling on Greek-language scholarly research and translation in the area of utopian studies, it makes reference to film, drama and performance art, architecture and urbanism, and cross-platform cultural initiatives. It concludes with two observations regarding the dominant character of the Greek reception of the utopian problematic in recent years: first, that it is highly political in nature and therefore oriented to concrete social and cultural interventions around the major issues the country has faced and, second, that the increasing resonance of utopia is for these reasons largely unofficial in character, since European research funding is relatively lacking. This gives a strongly “grassroots” character to much of the activity using utopia as method and orientation. The second half of the survey draws on responses to the journal questionnaire to document the activity of one research initiative undertaken in Greece, “Utopia Project 2006–2010,” coordinated by Vassilis Vlastaras and Maria Glyka under the auspices of the Athens School of Fine Arts and involving the collaborative work of international artists and academics over a period of five years.