Utopías tópicas: un mapa de la imaginación social en España, 1868-1939

Abstract

This article develops Phillip E. Wegner’s view of the utopian genre as a “spatial history of modernity” by tracing some of the physical, social and political places in which Spanish authors set their imaginary societies between the Sexenio Democrático and the Second Republic (1868-1939). It shows that, despite these authors’ keen interest in the geographical discoveries and science fiction of the age, they dreamt above all of spaces anchored in their history and experience. Their projects, ranging from daydreams to practical programs, reflect both deep disagreements and surprising coincidences in the definition of political space (particularly in the prominence they gave to the nation), as well as a great ambivalence towards modern society, similar to that detected in other literatures of the time.