A discussion about food in utopias
Institute of Contemporary Greek Art
9α Valaoritou, 106 71, Athens
Saturday, 22 January 2011 at 12:30
“There is tenderness only in the coarsest demand: that no-one shall go hungry anymore”
This phrase from Adorno’s Minima Oralia can be considered as emblematic of the way the
question of food appears in utopian thought. The satisfaction of the basic needs of all the
members of utopian societies, the recognition of the importance of the pleasures of the body,
collective meals as mechanisms that strengthen the social bond are among
the dominant motifs of utopian texts.
Around the table of Utopia Project, we are going to talk about the question of alimentation
in the utopian tradition, the contemporary practices of collective kitchens, and how
the table obeys the limitations set by the group that uses it, consenting to the object’s meaning.
Yannis Stavrakakis, “On the boulimic tradition of Cockaigne and the moral regulation of table manners”
Vicky Iakovou, “Charles Fourier’s kitchen”
Alexandros Kioupkiolis, “Cooking new utopias? Collective kitchens and the commons of liberty”
Maria Glyka, “Table: a boundary situation”
