The Shape of Utopia

The Shape of Utopia
Author :
Publisher : U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages : 533
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781452960968
ISBN-13 : 1452960968
Rating : 4/5 (68 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The Shape of Utopia by : Irene Cheng

Download or read book The Shape of Utopia written by Irene Cheng and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2023-08-01 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How nineteenth-century social reformers devised a new set of radical blueprints for society In the middle of the nineteenth century, a utopian impulse flourished in the United States through the circulation of architectural and urban plans predicated on geometrically distinct designs. Though the majority of such plans remained unrealized, The Shape of Utopia emphasizes the enduring importance of these radical propositions and their ability to visualize alternatives to what was then a newly emerging capitalist nation. Drawing diagrammatic plans for structures such as octagonal houses, a hexagonal anarchist city, and circular centers of equitable commerce, these various architectural utopians applied geometric forms to envision a more just and harmonious society. Highlighting the inherent political capacity of architecture, Irene Cheng showcases how these visionary planners used their blueprints as persuasive visual rhetoric that could mobilize others to share in their aspirations for a better world. Offering an extensive and uniquely focused view of mid-nineteenth-century America’s rapidly changing cultural landscape, this book examines these utopian plans within the context of significant economic and technological transformation, encompassing movements such as phrenology, anarchism, and spiritualism. Engaging equally with architectural history, visual culture studies, and U.S. history, The Shape of Utopia documents a pivotal moment in American history when ordinary people ardently believed in the potential to reshape society.


The Shape of Utopia Related Books

The Shape of Utopia
Language: en
Pages: 533
Authors: Irene Cheng
Categories: Architecture
Type: BOOK - Published: 2023-08-01 - Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How nineteenth-century social reformers devised a new set of radical blueprints for society In the middle of the nineteenth century, a utopian impulse flourishe
The Shape of Utopia
Language: en
Pages: 0
Authors: Robert C. Elliott
Categories: Literary form
Type: BOOK - Published: 2013 - Publisher: Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This is a new edition of Robert C. Elliott's highly influential book, first published in 1970, offering scintillating readings of classic works by Thomas More,
Utopia
Language: en
Pages: 113
Authors: Thomas More
Categories: Political Science
Type: BOOK - Published: 2023-12-03 - Publisher: Good Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional
The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature
Language: en
Pages:
Authors: Gregory Claeys
Categories: Literary Criticism
Type: BOOK - Published: 2010-08-05 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Since the publication of Thomas More's genre-defining work Utopia in 1516, the field of utopian literature has evolved into an ever-expanding domain. This Compa
The Shape of Things To Come
Language: en
Pages: 517
Authors: H. G. Wells
Categories: Fiction
Type: BOOK - Published: 2022-11-13 - Publisher: DigiCat

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Shape of Things to Come is a work of science fiction, which speculates on future events from 1933 until the year 2106. In the book, a world state is establi