Futuro idealizado ou presente alternativo? Considerações acerca das temporalidades históricas na obra utópica Walden II (1945-1948)

Abstract

Literary utopias have been introduced and situated in future time. However, can the utopian genre be understood exclusively from this temporal perspective? This dissertation investigates the historical temporalities that intersect the utopia Walden II (1948), written by the psychologist and researcher of human behavior Burrhus Frederic Skinner. Starting from a historical analysis, we seek to understand the context in which the work was produced —written in 1945 and published in 1948— shaped by the political-cultural landscape of the United States, Skinner’s country of origin, especially regarding its participation in World War II. We also intend to explore the motivations, inspirations, and frustrations in response to the United States society in 1945 that led the author to create his utopia. In this sense, we aim to identify, through the analysis of the work, the historical temporalities that pervade it, in order to discuss the central question posed in the title of this study: are utopias, as a literary genre, anchored in an idealized future or are they situated in an alternative present?