Guest editorial: reimagining the future: utopian perspectives

Abstract

Looking down at an African boy building a sand castle, the reader might wonder what the editors wish to convey with this image for this special issue on utopia. And indeed, does such an image not feed into the common stereotypes on which charities and humanitarian organisations play to foster pity for a continent trapped in cyclical poverty? A viewer’s assumption might easily be that the picture was taken by a white photographer charmed by the sight of what is then framed as proof of the legendary resourcefulness of poor black children satisfied to play with mud and the leftovers of mass production. But if our aim is not to join the concert of voices singing the beautiful creative simplicity of deprived childhood, along with the construction of a condescending gaze on those who are viewed as needing “our” help, why, then, did we choose this particular cover image?