The guest editors of Yod – Revue des études hébraïques et juives / Yod – A Journal of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, published by the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (Inalco, Paris, https://www.inalco.fr/revue/yod), invite researchers in Jewish Studies and Hebrew and Jewish Literature to submit abstracts on any topic related to the theme of Utopia and Dystopia.
The concept of utopia, and its potential realizations, has long held a central place in Jewish tradition—whether through the messianic expectations championed by the prophets of Israel or the mythic land beyond the Sambatyon River found in rabbinic legends. Zionism, listed by Jean Delumeau among the 19th-century utopias that promised a bright future for humanity, offered a national response to the Jewish question. As envisioned by Theodor Herzl, the future Jewish state embodied the best of Europe’s ideals: progress, economic prosperity, peaceful coexistence, and cultural flourishing. It is no coincidence that Theodor Herzl is also the author of the utopian novel Altneuland (Old-New Land, 1902). Later, the pioneering movement advocated for the creation of the “New Jew” through land-based redemption, aspirations to make the desert bloom, and the construction of Tel Aviv—a vibrant city of boulevards, theaters, cinemas, and cafés where intellectuals gathered to shape the new Hebrew culture.
The dystopian novels of the 1980s express growing doubts about the success of this utopian vision, depicting Israel as either destroyed or nearly so, whether by its outside enemies or by the rise of ultra-Orthodox Judaism. More recent dystopian novels from the 2010s have moved beyond strictly political or religious issues to address ecological challenges, such as climate change and water scarcity.
This thematic issue aims to explore the evolution and continuing relevance of this subject and its various ramifications:
1. The connection/difference between messianism and utopia
2. The definition of utopic and dystopic genre in the context of Jewish and Hebrew literature
3. The Bible as a source for utopic and dystopic vision
4. Zionism, environment and utopia
5. Language in utopia and dystopia
6. Time and temporality
7. History/dystopia/uchronia
8. Literary influences and intertextual relationships
9. Utopia/dystopia and ecocriticism
Bibliography
Charbit, Denis. Retour à Altneuland. La traversée des utopies sionistes. Paris : Éditions de l’Éclat, 2004.
Delumeau, Jean. Mille ans de bonheur – Une histoire du Paradis, vol. 2, Paris : Fayard, 1995.
Herzl, Theodor. Altneuland, 1902. Traduction française Terre ancienne terre nouvelle. Paris : Slatkine, 1980. English translation The Old New Land. USA: Random House, 1987.
Nakhon – Ktav ‘et le-utopia we-le-distopia ba-sifrut (True – Periodical about Utopia and Dystopia in Literature), 2018-today.
Omer Sherman, Ranen. Imagining the Kibbutz – Visions of Utopia in Israeli, Literature and Film. University Park PA: Pennsylvania University Press, 2015.
Submission
1. The deadline for submitting the abstract is 31 January 2025.
2. Submission and publication language: English/French
3. Full title, abstract (150 words) and 3keywords should be included.
4. A cover letter should be also sent in the same email, with: full title of the article and full name of the Author(s), with current affiliation and full address/phone/fax/email details, plus a short biographical note; Author(s)’s statement confirming the agreement to the submission and that the article was not published before and is not currently being considered for publication by any other journal.
5. Selection of articles is based on the abstract, and presenters will get a notification of their acceptance by 28 February 2025.
6. The full article is due on 30 September 2025 and must be an original submission not presented or published elsewhere.
7. Both abstracts and articles should be submitted as a MS Word file by e-mail.
8. Research articles should be between 30,000 and 60,000 characters (footnotes and spaces included).
9. Each text submitted should be a doc.document, written in French or American English, doubled-space in 12-point Times New Roman; fully justified.
10. The Journal number is scheduled for publication in April/May 2026.
11. The journal is published both in an online ad printed issue
Please send the abstracts to Anna Lissa anna.lissa76@gmail.com
Michèle Tauber mtauber@unistra.fr