Uplands Lifelong Learning Institute is pleased to present Tennessee’s Communal Utopian Tradition presented by Andrew Smith. In the 1990s and in the first decade of this century it was his life, but that is not the case any longer.
Andrew Smith is a tenured senior instructor of English at Tennessee Tech, a Vanderbilt-trained theologian, a poet, activist, DJ, blogger. His lifelong commitment to inhabiting the Beloved Community will bring a personal passion to his scholarship in utopian thought.
Friday Lecture April 9,2021 (7-9:30pm)
Tennessee's Communal Utopian Tradition
From 19th century experiments like Rugby or Ruskin to 20th and 21st century counter-culture communes like The Farm and Short Mountain, Tennessee has a rich and vibrant utopian communal tradition. This talk will outline the incredible legacy and success of Tennessee utopias, including their ongoing impact, including personal anecdotes and first-person participatory research.
Saturday Lecture April 10,2021 (9-10:30am)
Hope, Liberation, and Imagination: the Literature of Utopia as Communal Spark
This talk will take a telegraphic tour of prophetic science fiction literature, in dystopian as well as utopian style, as the spark for utopian liberation movements in the United States, internationally and intergalatically. This more speculative and visionary discussion will show how audacious hopeful seers and seekers can imagine a better world by showing us better worlds.
The program will be a ZOOM hosted event by ULLI. Once registration is underway, registrants will be contacted with the ZOOM link and with instructions. ULLI has now purchased from ZOOM a plan allowing up to 100 participants.
An email address and means to access the internet is required: tablet, laptop, desktop, cell phone. To register: email- ullipleasanthill@gmail.com.
ABOUT ULLI: Dedicated to enriching all our lives through a variety of programs and courses on a wide range of topics and subjects. ULLI exists because of the generosity of members and donors. Programs come to be because of the imagination and energy of many of our larger community. ULLI depends on membership dues and donations to support these programs. BECOME A MEMBER ($50 annually): MAKE A DONATION: (any amount helps)
ADDRESS TO: ULLI, Attn: George Andrews, 67 Church Drive, P.O. Box 167, Pleasant Hill, TN 38578 or put it in his Heritage Hall mailbox. Thank you for your support.
