Traditionally, we have related them to impossibility. Utopia would be the description of an unattainable horizon marked by lack of conflict and perfection. But can we think of utopia in another way? Are there already spaces for utopias bathed in discomfort and sadness? Is a space in which we can sustain ourselves without pain really unattainable? A critical conception of the idea of utopia could allow us to point out realities that already take place as utopian spaces, alternatives to a hostile present.
In this dialogue between Alicia Valdés, political scientist and PhD in Humanities, and Lama Norbu, founder of the Buddhist community Casa Virupa, which has been exploring alternative forms of spiritual, communitarian and material life for 10 years, we will discuss two apparently distant points of view – one of philosophical and critical roots, the other of contemplative and practical roots – that coincide in the same intuition: that we do not have to wait for a perfect future to begin to inhabit other forms of life. Alternatives already exist, often discrete and imperfect, but real. And it is perhaps here that utopia ceases to be a dream and becomes a radical way of looking at, caring for and inhabiting the present.
Biography
Alicia Valdés – She is a political scientist and PhD in Humanities. Her work is in a constant process of transformation that addresses resistance and subversion from perspectives that allow new perceptions of subjectivity, the body, identities and desire. She also aims to engage in different forms of creation, from writing, to research, performance, curating and experimentation of bodies and relationships. Her approach is transdisciplinary and focuses on psychoanalysis, philosophy and politics. She is the author of Politics of Discomfort. Why we do not desire alternatives to the present and Towards in Feminist Lacanian Left, Theory and Intersectional Politics (Routledge, 2022).
Lama Norbu – Director and founder of the Contemplative Arts Lab and Casa Virupa. At Casa Virupa, in addition to accompanying the network of members and students of the center, he also accompanies all the areas that make up the project. He teaches retreats and courses on Buddhist philosophy, and is the director of the pedagogical coordination and of all the training programs of the entity. In 2020 H.H. Gongma Trichen Rinpoche appointed him as lama (master), making him the youngest Western master of the Sakya School. He was involved in music and the humanities before turning to the dharma and, as director of the Laboratory of Contemplative Arts, he is the coordinator of all curatorships and oversees the direction, administration and production of the LAC.
Information
Sunday, June 8th. From 18 to 19.30h