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Winner of the Thomas A. Herz Prize for Qualitative Research and the Habilitation Prize.
What if utopia wasn't a distant dream, but already unfolding around us?
Focusing on South Africa, this compelling book rethinks utopia not as a fictional unreachable future, but as a lived practice – emerging in social movements and intentional communities.
Rejecting capitalism, it explores how people create alternative ways of living social orders or economies, imagining and organizing the world. Blending decolonial sociology, political sociology, utopian studies and real-world experiences, the book offers a fresh and original approach to understanding social transformation in times of crisis.
A powerful read for scholars, students and activists interested in resistance and hope for alternative futures.
'A valuable look at South African prefigurative and utopian politics that broadens and challenges the Global North focus of much utopian studies.' Davina Cooper, King's College London
‘Trailblazing work on South African activism that contributes significantly to decolonizing social sciences and utopian studies.’ Magnus Echtler, University of Bayreuth
1. Introduction
2. (Lived) Utopia in the Context of Academic Debates
3. African Utopias from the Perspective of Decolonial Sociology
4. Lived Utopias: Criticism and Imaginaries of a Good Life
5. Lived Utopias and Their Aspiration to a Good Life
6. Inside Lived Utopias: Biographical Testimonies and Intersectional Configuration
7. Lived Utopias – Resonances – Change
8. Conclusion