14th International Conference, the Utopian Studies Society - Europe (USS) & 2nd Global Conference, A
25.07.2013

14th International Conference, the Utopian Studies Society - Europe (USS)
"Topographies of Harmony"
1 - 4 July 2013 New Lanark, Scotland

 
The abstract of my presentation is given below so as to give a general frame and purpose of the study.
Abstract
The Rearrangement: Harmony Brought by Physical Borders but in Psychological Terms in Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomson
Rupert Thomson's Divided Kingdom (2005) reflects the re-formation of the United Kingdom according to the humours of the people (sanguine, choleric, melancholic, and phlegmatic). Not to colour, race, or financial conditions, but "to psychology, according to type" (Thomson 8). Although this seems a psychological division, it is a geographical and physical division as well with concrete walls and some guards since the health and harmony of the society is resembled to those of the body. In this re-formed society under the name of the Rearrangement, the concept of family has also been reshaped because there is no traditional family value or understanding. The people who are categorised under the same humour are collected as the new families as it is grounded on the collection of temperament and on the idea that there will be no disagreements or discussions among the members but only harmony. However, this utopic vision of the government turned out that it has solved nothing but only triggered it in different regions.
Hence, this paper aims to question whether dividing and classifying the people with some specific rules or some specific categorisations to bring harmony with sameness would / could be constructive or destructive.


2nd Global Conference, Apocalypse Imagining the End
10 - 12 July 2013 Mansfield College, Oxford
 

 
The abstract of my presentation is given below so as to give a general frame and purpose of the study.
Abstract
 
The new Luxury, the new Power: Oxygen in Breathe by Sarah Crossan
 
Stockwell emphasises that “human individuals no longer create societies; they are created by societies” (111). Within this context, individuals are made submissive by the illusion of freedom of choice, whereas they are already shaped with the roles allotted to them in accordance with the systematic structure of society. In this sense, “[t]he arresting feature of society in speculative dystopias is standardisation and lack of individualism” (Stockwell 110), and this standardisation makes individual resistance to totalitarian and authoritarian systems almost impossible. The literary reflection of these is seen on the contemporary British dystopian novels, and one of these recent ones is Breathe (2012) by Sarah Crossan. In Breathe, Crossan pictures a world where there is no tree left in the world, and therefore, without any tree, oxygen becomes crucial and limited whose amount decides the social stratification and also the life standards of the people. In Breathe, there is a corporation called Breathe which is able and capable to manufacture the oxygen-rich air, and also to manipulate the public by deciding on the amount of oxygen they can have, and directly by deciding whether these people can survive or not. By forcing or encouraging individuals to conform to social norms and obey the rules without questioning, the function of individuals is reduced only to entities that correspond the needs of authorities, or to maintain social conformity. With an in-depth analysis of this novel, in the light of theories on ideology, hegemony, and individual, this paper will try to indicate that in the strictly formed and practised social and governmental systems, there is no place for individual autonomy.

----- 
These two presentations have been great and fruitful experiences since both of them are counted as the significant conferences for the utopian and dystopian studies. The former one is organised by the Utopian Studies Society which is an interdisciplinary society and focuses on utopianism and utopian studies as well as dystopian studies. This conference was held in New Lanark, Scotland which was a centre of the utopia founded by Robert Owen two hundred years earlier; therefore, the location is very significant for these studies and disciplines. The latter one is organised by Interdisciplinary. Net committee as a part of the Ethos series of research projects. The major purpose of this project was to cooperate and gather all the academicians from different disciplines around the world; moreover, to lead them work together and share their ideas.
Both of these conferences and the discussions have been helpful to understand and relate the fictional works to the recent events in different countries in various parts of the world. The oppressive and dominant powers, the submissive individuals, the possibility of rebellion and subversion, idealistic thoughts, planning the best, the probability or improbability of any alternative system have been the main topics of discussion in these conferences. The attendants were very intellectual and willing to search, discuss, learn new things, and to explore new ideas. One of the best features of both conferences was that they accepted participants from all disciplines like literature, anthropology, architecture, psychology, gender studies, sociology, history, religion, etc. This has made them colourful, fruitful, refreshing, and also inspiring for all the attendants.
As a conclusion for both conferences, it can be said that there has been a rising appeal to both hopeful, optimistic and utopian approaches and also dark, pessimistic and dystopian approaches. This is the reflection of the real lives of all of us because this is a part of everybody's life. Still they present the question whether there can be an alternative way of life or it would be better to accept and live the life determined for each of us without questioning.

Emine Şentürk, DFL
Atılım University