Utopia: Then and Now – King’s Place

The other day I went to King’s Place for an interesting talk about Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. Entitled Utopia: Then and Now, the talk featured Michael Caines chairing a discussion between Matthew Beaumont and Chloë Houston, academics who have worked on the book.

I originally read Utopia as a history undergraduate and although I’ve forgotten most of the details, I do remember finding it an interesting read. The talk looked at the concept of a Utopian society, which reaches back to the classical period, and whether or not there is a universal “utopian impulse” in many societies around the world. The talk also discussed the idea of a dystopia in relation to an utopia, and how one could be related to the other. The discussion also mentioned other ideas of utopia throughout the years, including critical (such as Voltaire’s Candide) and mocking (such as Swift’s).

Ultimately, the talk made me realise that my original understanding of Utopia is actually rather simplistic, and it would definitely be worth me going back and exploring this hugely important text.