Worldwide, we are witnessing a constant production of utopic registers of the future as part of their struggles for reexistence and reworlding. However, African utopias have been neglected and overshadowed by Euro-American utopian studies. Although there is an increasing debate on Afrotopias, little knowledge exists of the different meanings of utopia and the vibrant existence of Afrotopia. Through an analysis of lived utopia in South Africa, my research challenges the coloniality of time in two ways, overcoming dominant discourses. First, it unpacks the Westernisation of the utopian studies canon, providing insight into the broad production of Afrotopias as utopian registers, as well as their distinctive features. Secondly, by examining lived utopias in South Africa, I demonstrate that utopia is not solely fictional, but also a real-world phenomenon evident in the practices of social movements. Examining these utopias reveals how the coloniality of time is broken down, illustrating how the future is present in the here and now through political and everyday practices.
PD Dr Antje Daniel is a senior researcher at the University of Vienna specialising in academic studies on utopia/future, political sociology, the environment, youth and intersectionality/gender. She is leading a research project entitled ‚Youth Activism and Fridays for Future‘. An Intersectional and Global Perspective, with case studies in Uganda, Austria, and Bangladesh, as well as a project on the EU Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (CSDDD) and its impact on civil society in Uganda.
