Living a sea change: The role of embodiment in enacting a real utopia

Abstract. Real utopias are visions of desirable futures that are both aspirational and achievable. As a form of projective agency, they can inspire experimental enactment, in which utopian ideas are tested in real-life contexts. Although earlier research has touched on the practical and visceral experiences associated with such experimental enactment, it has surprisingly undertheorized the role of embodiment therein. Our shared experience of the Sailing Initiative, a collective endeavor to sail to a scientific conference on an island, provided a unique opportunity to explore the role of the body in bringing a real utopia to life. In the Sailing Initiative, we experimentally enacted our shared vision of environmental sustainability and slow academia, aiming to travel to the conference in a sustainable way while using the travel time for slow-paced academic work in an unconventional setting. We extensively documented our expectations and experiences through individual and collective reflections before and after the journey, as well as through photos and videos. Based on an abductive analysis of the rich autoethnographic data, we develop a theoretical model of the role of embodiment in enacting a real utopia that is sensitive to material realities. We argue that viewing agency through the lens of embodiment is significant for three reasons. First, an embodiment perspective highlights the transformative potential of experimental enactment in unconventional settings, helping individuals and collectives overcome embodied institutional norms and create new practices. Second, the body is not merely an instrument for executing envisioned practices or enduring discomforts; rather, bodily experiences continuously shape concrete actions in the process of enacting a desired future. Third, given the importance of bodily memories in crafting shared narratives of desired futures, a real utopia should be viewed not only as visionary thinking but as a projection shaped by both past and present bodily and visceral experiences.