Cruising Utopia
The Then and There of Queer Futurity
Format:Hardback
Publisher:New York University Press
Published:30th Nov '09
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£21.99(9780814757284)
This thought-provoking work challenges the traditional LGBT agenda, emphasizing the importance of envisioning a queer future. Cruising Utopia calls for a revitalization of political imagination.
In Cruising Utopia, the author critiques the narrow focus of the LGBT agenda, which has predominantly revolved around pragmatic issues such as same-sex marriage and military inclusion. This emphasis on present-day concerns is seen as limiting and assimilationist, stifling the broader potential of queer identity. Instead, the book proposes that queerness represents a futurity that is yet to be fully realized, a concept that invites critical engagement with the present moment.
Drawing inspiration from the ideas of Ernst Bloch, José Esteban Muñoz navigates through the queer past to illuminate pathways toward a more hopeful future. He examines the contributions of influential artists and writers, including Andy Warhol and Frank O'Hara, alongside contemporary creators like Dynasty Handbag and My Barbarian. Through this exploration, Cruising Utopia reveals how art possesses a unique ability to envision futures that transcend current limitations.
Ultimately, the book serves as both a manifesto and a heartfelt homage to the past and future of queer identity. Muñoz argues that merely focusing on the present is insufficient; instead, there is a pressing need to revitalize the queer political imagination. This call to action encourages readers to embrace the potential of what is yet to come, inspiring a movement that looks beyond the immediate concerns of today.
"In the course of an introduction, a conclusion, and the ten lush chapters in between, Cruising Utopia elaborates an archive of queer aesthetic practices from the present and the recent past." -- Kevin Floyd * Meditations: The Journal of the Marxist Literary Group *
"Brilliant, extraordinary, and necessary, Muñozs critical refusal of queer pragmatism, his commitment to the utopian force of the radical attemptthe radical aesthetic, erotic, and philosophical experimentis indispensable in an historical moment characterized by political surrender and intellectual timidity passing itself off as boldness." -- Fred Moten,author of In the Break
"Muñoz takes Ernst Bloch as his Virgil as he descends into the dark woods of futurity looking for signposts along the way that will guide him to a place of hope, belonging, queerness and quirkiness. Refusing to simply sign on to the & anti-relational, anti-future brand of queer theory espoused by Edelman, Bersani and others, Muñoz insists that for some queers, particularly for queers of color, hope is something one cannot afford to lose and for them giving up on futurity is not an option." -- Jack Halberstam,author of In a Queer Time and Place
"Gay liberations activist past and pragmatic present are merely prologue to a queer cultural future, Muñoz suggests in this critical condemnation of the political status quo. Casting his vision of a radical gay aesthetic through the prisms of literature, photography and performance, the author dismisses commonplace concerns like same-sex marriage as desires for & mere inclusion in a & corrupt mainstream. More defiantly, he exalts the persistence of commercial sex spaces in the face of & antisex and homphobic policings, and celebrates the overlay of punk and queer in performance spaces." * Publishers Weekly *
"In this interesting study of queerness and identity politics, Munoz (performance studies, New York Univ.) invites readers to look beyond the immediate present and toward a queer future." * Choice *
ISBN: 9780814757277
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
234 pages