Abstract Book of the 8th World Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2025
DOI:
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Evaporating Paradises: The Critique of Liquid Modern Utopianism in Edward Bond’s The Tin Can People
Özden Dere
ABSTRACT:
Examining Edward Bond’s 1984 play The Tin Can People as a critical reflection of liquid modern utopianism, this study explores the Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman’s idea of liquid modernity and its implications for the literary interpretation of contemporary utopianism. Using his theoretical framework, this article sheds light on the evolution of utopian ideals in the late twentieth century by examining the transition from solid modern utopianism to liquid modern utopianism. In order to reveal how modern cultural productions mirror the transition from solid modern principles of order and development to liquid modern pursuits of individual happiness and survival, the study employs Bauman’s mostly unexplored utopian theories to analyze how this trend appears in literature today. In doing so, it highlights the relevance of Bauman’s theories for future studies of utopian literature, their critique of modern social dynamics, and for comprehending cultural outputs of the present day.
Keywords: Liquid modernity, utopianism, Edward Bond, The Tin Can People, postmodernity, consumerism, Zygmunt Bauman