About the Society

Founded in 1975, The Society for Utopian Studies is an international, interdisciplinary association devoted to the study of utopianism in all its forms, with a particular emphasis on literary and experimental utopias. Scholars representing a wide variety of disciplines are active in the association, and approach utopian studies from such diverse backgrounds as American Studies, Architecture, the Arts, Classics, Cultural Studies, Economics, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Gender Studies, History, Languages and Literatures, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology and Urban Planning.

Although many Society members are involved in social activism or communitarianism, the purpose of the Society itself is to study utopianism rather than to pursue utopian projects.

The Society sponsors an annual scholarly meeting and publishes the journal Utopian Studies and a newsletter, Utopus Discovered, which contains information about upcoming conferences and workshops, and details on publications in the field.

The Society maintains two listservs:

  1. H-UTOPIA is a moderated discussion for scholarly exchange. To subscribe to the H-UTOPIA listserv, follow the instructions on the H-UTOPIA page on H-NET.
  2. UTOPIA-L is unmoderated. To subscribe to the UTOPIA-L listserv, send the e-mail message "subscribe UTOPIA-L" to listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu.

For more information about the Society, contact:

Dr. Phillip E. Wegner
pwegner@ufl.edu
PO Box 117310
Department of English
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7310
(352) 392-6650, ex. 261

Chairs / Presidents of the Society for Utopian Studies

1976 - Mickey Abrash

1977 - Gorman Beauchamp; Alexandra Aldridge

1978 - Arthur O. Lewis

1979 - Michael Cummings

1980 - Arthur O. Lewis; Mickey Abrash

1981 - 1984 - Arthur O. Lewis

1984 - 1986 - Carol Farley Kessler

1986 - 1990 - Lawrence E. Hough

1990 - 1994 - Lyman Tower Sargent

1994 - 1998 - Peter Fitting

1998 - 2002 - Naomi Jacobs

2002 - 2006 - Kenneth Roemer

2006 - 2010 - Carrie Hintz

2010 - Present - Phillip E. Wegner