The Shape of Utopia: The Architecture of Radical Reform in Nineteenth-Century America (Buell Center Books in the History and Theory of American Architecture) - Softcover

Cheng, Irene

 
9781517907464: The Shape of Utopia: The Architecture of Radical Reform in Nineteenth-Century America (Buell Center Books in the History and Theory of American Architecture)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1517907462 ISBN 13: 9781517907464
Verlag: University of Minnesota Press, 2023

Inhaltsangabe

How nineteenth-century social reformers devised a new set of radical blueprints for society

In the middle of the nineteenth century, a utopian impulse flourished in the United States through the circulation of architectural and urban plans predicated on geometrically distinct designs. Though the majority of such plans remained unrealized, The Shape of Utopia emphasizes the enduring importance of these radical propositions and their ability to visualize alternatives to what was then a newly emerging capitalist nation.

Drawing diagrammatic plans for structures such as octagonal houses, a hexagonal anarchist city, and circular centers of equitable commerce, these various architectural utopians applied geometric forms to envision a more just and harmonious society. Highlighting the inherent political capacity of architecture, Irene Cheng showcases how these visionary planners used their blueprints as persuasive visual rhetoric that could mobilize others to share in their aspirations for a better world.

Offering an extensive and uniquely focused view of mid-nineteenth-century America’s rapidly changing cultural landscape, this book examines these utopian plans within the context of significant economic and technological transformation, encompassing movements such as phrenology, anarchism, and spiritualism. Engaging equally with architectural history, visual culture studies, and U.S. history, The Shape of Utopia documents a pivotal moment in American history when ordinary people ardently believed in the potential to reshape society.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Irene Cheng is associate professor of architecture at the California College of the Arts.

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Verlag
University of Minnesota Press
Erscheinungsdatum
2023
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
1517907462
ISBN 13 
9781517907464
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
349
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Mare Nostrum Group B.V.
gpsr@mare-nostrum.co.uk

Doelen 72
Breda
4831 GR
Niederlande

Weitere beliebte Ausgaben desselben Titels

9781517907457: The Shape of Utopia: The Architecture of Radical Reform in Nineteenth-century America (Buell Center Books in the History and Theory of American Architecture)

Vorgestellte Ausgabe

ISBN 10:  1517907454 ISBN 13:  9781517907457
Verlag: University of Minnesota Press, 2023
Hardcover