The Renaissance: Journeys of Discovery at BRLSI is a year-long programme of talks and events exploring the creativity, discoveries, and enduring cultural legacy of a movement that continues to influence the 21st century. From Brunelleschi and Michelangelo to Da Vinci, Martin Luther, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Machiavelli, and Hieronymus Bosch, the series examines the figures and ideas that shaped the period.
One of the key texts of the Renaissance is Thomas More’s Utopia. Its original 1516 title, On The Best State of a Commonwealth and On the New Island of Utopia, reflects the book’s dual focus on political thought and imagined societies. Written in Latin during the age of exploration, the text engages with questions of discovery, governance, and social organisation, while also reflecting the political power and corruption of its time.
Thomas More, England’s leading humanist and a prominent Renaissance figure, was known for his imagination and wit. Utopia can be read in multiple ways: as a serious representation of political and social equality, a satire on idealism, a scholar’s playful exercise, or a radical text that retains relevance today.
Our regular in-house book group will consider these questions and more. The group is free to members and £3 for non-members. Some points to reflect on while reading include:
Do you agree that even today, Utopia remains an astonishingly radical and important text?
Does More’s apparent lighthearted playfulness add to, or detract from, the serious questions that underpin the text?
What use does More make of framing devices?
Do you think the systems put in place to achieve “the highest quality of living possible” are more “dystopian” than “utopian”?
How does More present the longstanding and contradictory tensions between philosophical ideals and political realities?
The group will be led by Zoe Morgan, independent scholar and researcher at the Institute of Classical Studies and History & Culture Convenor at BRLSI.
You may also like the following events from Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution:
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