The Theory and Practice of Utopia in Our Troubled Times: A Conversation with Author Larissa Lai and Critic Sherryl Vint

Amid current global crises, the international conference “The Knock at the Door: Utopian Dreams for Post-Covid Times,” jointly organized by the University of Huelva (Spain) and the University of Calgary (Canada) on May 21–24, 2023, at the University of Huelva, provided a forum for reflecting upon the role played by speculative fiction in (re)imagining better futures, while remaining vigilant to possible threats and dangers. The title of the conference, borrowed from philosopher John Rajchman,1 is intentionally ambiguous. Lying behind that door could be total liberation for all—or it could be secret police who lead us toward genocides, deportation, rapes, and mass graves. Taking this dichotomous trope, “the knock at the door,” as a point of departure, professors Larissa Lai (University of Toronto, Canada; recipient of a Maria Zambrano fellowship at the University of Huelva at the time of the interview) and Sherryl Vint (University of California Riverside, USA) engaged in a fruitful conversation, moderated by Dr. Rocío Carrasco-Carrasco in a hybrid format (in-person and streaming), on the second day of the conference.The aim of the conversation between these two—one an internationally renowned author and the other an internationally known literary critic—was to offer two different yet complementary viewpoints about the theory and practice of utopia and dystopia from a gender and genre perspective, focusing particularly (considering the difficult cultural junction we are at) on how literary texts represent and interrogate contemporary issues. Among the topics addressed during the conversation was the controversy surrounding the very term speculative fiction in relation to science fiction, fantasy, and non-Western ways of knowing. Larissa Lai offers the concept of insurgent utopia (or emergent insurgency) as a form of utopian thought and practice that makes way for many dreams and many kinds of action, depending on one’s location. Later topics included the figure of the posthuman, key for deconstructing binary oppositions based on domination practices of one over the other: human/ nonhuman; masculine/feminine; white European/nonwhite/Indigenous. Both Vint and Lai turn to Donna Haraway’s concept of “making kin” to explain how posthumanism might expand the concept of family and community beyond genetics, generating new relational and ethical systems.2 Lai and Vint draw attention to the human-animal bond needed for the understanding and wellbeing of our planet.Turning to the topic of feminist utopias, the notion of “unfinished projects” highlighted the struggles of the past are left incomplete, and need to continue today. Works written in the ’60s, ’70s and even ’90s opened up many important questions that were only partly answered at the time; when examined today, these responses seem quite out of date, because times have changed. Hence, although Vint and Lai explain that feminist concerns basically remain the same, both underscore the need for different answers in our contemporary context. Finally, recalling how Indigenous knowledges and forms of being have traditionally been suppressed by colonialism, Vint and Lai recognize the pivotal role that postcolonial utopian writers play on building a relational approach to Indigenous peoples and their narratives. On the one hand, Lai reflects on the politics of the body and on the legacies of the colonial past in order to learn from mistakes, to demand recognition and apology for the atrocities committed. She advocates therefore working to create bridges and to foster cultural understanding. On the other hand, Vint talks about the risks of romanticizing Indigenous knowledges and of reappropriating them. Given the topics addressed and the speakers’ thoughtful and thought-provoking approaches to several problematics, this conversation should stand as a valuable contribution to navigating between our past, present, and future worlds.