Utopia School is an ongoing project that shares information about both failed and successful utopian projects and work towards new ones. For us, utopias are those spaces and initiatives that re-imagine the world in some crucial way. The school engages and connects people through urgent conversations, with the goal of exploring, archiving and distributing collective knowledge throughout this multi-city project. Over time, we will create a comprehensive open curricula on utopian thought and practice. Some examples of what we will be studying include physical places, relationship dynamics, systems of organizing, political contexts, common roadblocks, and the methods used to create and sustain these projects.
Website
UtopiaSchool.org is not an online “social network” – it’s a set of tools for our growing utopian learning community. The tools help us – across neighborhoods or continents – to imagine together what a school based on utopian thought and practice could look like; to see how others have envisioned it; to propose our own and co-develop new class ideas together; and to meet in real life as often as possible (and remotely when we can’t) to experiment with those proposals.
Sessions
A group of classes in a specific place, over a set period of time.
Classes
We call all open explorations “classes” (these can be workshops, field trips, screenings, exercises, games, etc).
Anyone can propose a class, and the person who proposes the class can update it over time with input from other interested people through the class comments. See our FAQ page for detailed instructions.
Getting involved
Anyone can get involved in any class, by clicking “Get involved”, where you can then offer to help facilitate, help organize or just follow the class. You will then be listed under “Class involvement” (you can change or remove your involvement at any time).
Anyone can ask questions, discuss ideas, or help plan the class using the comment form at the bottom of each class. Everyone involved will be notified by email whenever a comment is posted to the class, or class information changes (like dates, class description and facilitators), so the everyone will be kept in the loop.
Scheduling
People involved in the class comments can help schedule the class by providing you availability, and joining the open review meetings.
Open review meetings
Class proposals are regularly reviewed in open public meetings, and once accepted can be scheduled as part of ongoing or upcoming sessions. The only criteria for classes are that they relate to Utopian thought or practice, and that they follow our Policy (below).
Remote participation
Some of the classes at the school – and public events like the open review meetings – are available to join remotely. Check the evolving online schedule and each class description to see which will be available for remote participation. See the remote participation page with some info about how to get set up for this.
People
A community directory of people involved in each Session. On your profile you can select the Session(s) you have joined or plan to attend in person or remotely.
News
People who sign up for a Session will get notified by email about important events and news about that Session. You can also see past news archives for each Session).
Policy
Utopia School includes people with diverse backgrounds, identities, and ideas. Anything is possible with the exception of behavior that compromises the safety of others. We will not tolerate discrimination, or oppressive, suppressive, or violent behavior.