Utopia

This episode takes up the topic of Utopia.  What value do dreams of a better world have for understanding politics in the real world?  What impact has utopian thinking had on the evolution of the political world over the past few centuries?   Can imagining utopias provide a way to solve political challenges in our contemporary world?   These and other questions our guest, Professor Mark Jendrysik, addresses in his marvelous new book entitled Utopia.     Mark Jendrysik is Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Dakota.  Mark is Providence College political science alum of the class of 1986.    Professor Jendrysik earned his Ph.D. in political theory at the University of North Carolina in 1996.  He has been on the faculty of the University of North Dakota since 1999 and has served as department chair and won numerous awards for his research, teaching, student advising, and service to his university.  He has  published numerous scholarly article in political theory and several books.  His latest, Utopia, was published late last year by Polity Press.  Links to Professor Jendrysik’s books:  Utopia: https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509534920&subject_id=2    Modern Jeremiahs: Contemporary Visions of American Decline: https://www.amazon.com/Modern-Jeremiahs-Contemporary-Visions-American/dp/0739121928   Explaining the English Revolution: Hobbes and His Contemporaries: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0739121812/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2