Utopian Studies
Read an article (or two) from the peer-reviewed journal Utopian Studies to get a sense of what is expected of an author whose work has been accepted for publication.
Search for articles in Utopian Studies directly from within our main library search. Enter your keywords into the blank search box within the journal's bibliographic record. The library provides full-text access to this journal from 1995 to 2012.
Humanities Librarian
David C. Murray
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5787-2609Literary Criticism: Selected Works
Useful Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):
- Dystopias [topic] and its variant Dystopias in literature
- Utopias [topic] and its variants: Utopias in literature (or Utopian literature)
Also potentially useful LCSH:
The above searches lead to books and media. Select the "Books, Media & More" radio button and then re-execute your search to include online journal articles. If you do this, however, make sure to eliminate "Reviews" (i.e., book reviews) in the left-hand "Tweak your results" column.
Selected scholarly books and e-books (this list is not exhaustive):
Biopunk Dystopias: Genetic Engineering, Society and Science Fiction by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 1781383324Publication Date: 2016
Blast, Corrupt, Dismantle, Erase: Contemporary North American Dystopian Literature by Call Number: Open Access E-BOOKISBN: 9781554589890Publication Date: 2014-05-22National Network for Equitable Library Service (The Canadian Accessible Library System)
A Desire Called America: Biopolitics and Utopian Forms of Life in American Literature by Call Number: Electronic DissertationISBN: 0823286959Publication Date: 2012Later published in book form under the title A Desire Called America: Biopolitics, Utopia, and the Literary Commons (c2019).
From Utopia to Apocalypse: Science Fiction and the Politics of Catastrophe by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 9780816673414Publication Date: 2010Internet Archive is a trustworthy non-profit library. Create an account to check out this book for 1-hour or 14 days.
Imagining Surveillance: Eutopian and Dystopian Literature and Film by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781474400190Publication Date: 2015-07-01
Last Utopians: Four Late Nineteenth-Century Visionaries and Their Legacy by Call Number: PN56.U8 R58 2018ISBN: 9780691154169Publication Date: 2018-05-29Gitenstein Library E-BOOK
also available in print, General Stacks, call # PN56.U8 R58 2018
Postmodern Utopias and Feminist Fictions by Call Number: PN56.U8 W34 2013 (print only)ISBN: 1107038359Publication Date: 2013-07-31
Utopia, Limited: Romanticism and Adjustment by Call Number: PN56.U8 N47 2015ISBN: 9780674434578Publication Date: 2015-03-09 (print only)
Utopia and Dystopia in the Age of Trump: Images from Literature and Visual Arts by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781683931676Publication Date: 2019-06-04also available in print, General Collection Overflow, call # PN56.U8 U98 2019
Utopian Geographies and the Early English Novel by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780813936239Publication Date: 2014-10-01
Utopias of One by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781400887866Publication Date: 2017-11-28
Worlds Gone Awry: Essays On Dystopian Fiction by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781476671802Publication Date: 2018-08-16
Search by subject to find works about an author or criticisms of a specific dystopian/utopian novel.
See, for example, the works assigned to:
Look especially for "criticism and interpretation," a common sub-division assigned to criticisms published in books:
Another useful technique would be to execute the searches below, adding (on the second line of Advanced Search) a term from the title of the author's work (e.g., Oryx) if you wish to reduce your results set.
- Atwood, Margaret, 1939-
- Bellamy, Edward, 1850-1898
- Burdekin, Katharine, 1896-1963
- Burgess, Anthony, 1917-1933
- Butler, Octavia, 1947-2006
- Eggers, Dave, 1970-
- Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 1860-1935
- Hoban, Russell, 1925-2011
- Huxley, Aldous, 1894-1963
- James, P.D. (Phyllis Dorothy), 1920-2014
- London, Jack, 1876-1916
- St. John Mandel, Emily, 1979-
- Morris, William, 1834-1896
- Piercy, Marge, 1936-
- Rich, Nathaniel, 1980-
- Shteyngart, Gary, 1972-
- Wells, H.G. (Herbert George), 1866-1946
Note: Search WorldCat to find even more criticism. Request found chapters via our interlibrary loan (ILL) service.
- MLA International BibliographyChoose More > Indexes from the drop-down menu in the blue bar. On the resulting page, in the Browse an Index drop-down menu, choose "Primary Subject Author" and then type your author's last name into the Browse for box (e.g., Shteyngart). In the resulting list, look for your author, who might have more than one entry. Check the radio button next to all entries that seem relevant and then click the "Add" button. Finally, click the Search button to retrieve a list of article citations.
Substitute "Primary Subject Work" to find criticism of your novel (e.g., Super Sad True Love Story).
Substitute "Subject Terms" to find criticism of, for example, dystopia, the dystopian novel, utopia, the utopian novel, and utopians, among others. - Literature Online (LION)Click Advanced Search from the homepage of the database. In the left-hand column select Criticism and then Subject heading — MAINSUB from the drop-down menu. When it appears, click "Look up Subjects" to see a pop-up dialog box. Enter your author's last name or first and last name separated by a comma (e.g., London, Jack), and then click Find. (Reduce false hits by selecting the Begins with radio button before clicking on Find.) Mark the box(es) next to your author's subject heading(s) and then click Add to search. Finally, click Search to retrieve a list of journal citations.
Look to see if your author has a dedicated Author Page in the database. From the homepage, click on the Author Pages button and then enter your author's last name (e.g., Hoban) before executing your search. - Literature Resource CenterFrom the homepage (Advanced Search), select "Person-By or About" from the drop-down menu and then enter your author's last name into the corresponding text box (e.g., Rich). On the subsequent Results page, under FILTER YOUR RESULTS, click the "Person - About" tab. Select the box next to your author's name and then click the Apply button.
Alternately or in addition, click on "Person Search" from the grey bar. Enter your author's last name (e.g., Piercy) into the blank search box and execute your search. Choose your author from subsequent results to see what information is available in the database by or about them. Literature Criticism results are listed first, but you might see others categories such as Biographies, Topic & Work Overviews, Reviews & News, Primary Sources & Literary Works, and even Multimedia.
Note: In both Library Search and in the A&I databases, the Boolean operator "AND" links main concepts, which reduces your result set. Connect synonyms with the "OR" operator in a parenthetical expression (e.g., <Oryx OR Testaments>) to increase results. The truncation symbol (*) expands word stems.
Bibliography:
Utopian Literature in English: An Annotated Bibliography from 1516 to the Present by Call Number: Open Access E-BOOKPublication Date: 2016 and ongoing"Utopian Literature in English attempts to be the definitive bibliography for utopian literature in the English language. This online database, a Penn State Libraries Open Publishing publication, catalogs utopian literature in its myriad forms from 1516 to the present day. This bibliography is updated and revised regularly with new citations and revisions."
Companions:
The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780521886659Publication Date: 2010-08-05"Since the publication of Thomas More's genre-defining work Utopia in 1516, the field of utopian literature has evolved into an ever-expanding domain. This Companion presents an extensive historical survey of the development of utopianism, from the publication of Utopia to today's dark and despairing tendency towards dystopian pessimism, epitomised by works such as George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Chapters address the difficult definition of the concept of utopia, and consider its relation to science fiction and other literary genres. The volume takes an innovative approach to the major themes predominating within the utopian and dystopian literary tradition, including feminism, romance and ecology, and explores in detail the vexed question of the purportedly 'western' nature of the concept of utopia. The reader is provided with a balanced overview of the evolution and current state of a long-standing, rich tradition of historical, political and literary scholarship" (publisher). Also available in print, call # PN56.U8 C36 2010.
Authors:
The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0521839661Publication Date: 2006-03-30also available in print, call #PR9199.3.A8 Z565 2006
Critical Companion to Jack London: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9780816080847Publication Date: 2011-02-01
P. D. James: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Call Number: PR6060.A467 Z95 2017ISBN: 9780786497911Publication Date: 2017-05-25
Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 0313332258Publication Date: 2006-09-30
Encyclopedia:
Encyclopedia of Utopian Literature by Call Number: PN56.U8 S66 1995ISBN: 0874367573Publication Date: 1995-06-30This dated but useful reference work will be particularly helpful as a scholarly introduction to utopian/dystopian literature. Use it too for guidance in locating criticism published prior to the mid-1990s.
Handbook:
The Palgrave Handbook of Utopian and Dystopian Literatures by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9783030886530Publication Date: 2022-03-16
