Utop\Intent · Utopian Intentions: Critical Theory, Intentional Communities, and a Politics of Limits

Utop\Intent is a multifaceted research project that advances an original method of political and legal theory research which combines both rigorous theoretical analysis of canonical texts and ethnographic research. Its ambitious goal is both to develop a robust, adaptable model for the theoretical-empirical study of politics in the mid-21st century and rehabilitate the concepts of utopia and limits for contemporary progressive and egalitarian politics in an era that is increasingly marked by political malaise. It achieves this goal as the first book-length study to bridge the theoretical orientation of Critical Theory and Utopian Studies with the empirical orientation of Communal Studies using methods from Grounded Theory and Extended Case Method. Although these primary goals are scientific and aimed at career development, essential qualitative methods training, ERC grant-writing supervision, and networking oriented to obtaining a permanent research position in the EU, the project is also strategically positioned to concretely impact public policymakers, fair housing and community development social activists, and alternative higher education models through its open-access website and innovative higher education courses in collaboration with ULEI and Tamera Peace Research and Educational Center (Portugal).