DystoRpia is a combined word that works as much in English as it does in Spanish. This neologism comes from the English word dystopia used in its original sense as meaning the vision of a society as a negative or anti-utopian community, together with the Latin root torpere which in English gives us the word torpid and in Spanish the equivalent word torpe. This is a mental or fisical inactivity, even clumsiness.
Our project applies the neologism dystoRpia to examine through a variety of artisitc approaches, torpid visions of a vaguely utopian basis as actual anti-utopian practices as manifested through projects the likes of Panamericanism, regional or trans-regional integration, free trade agreements, bi-lateral treaties, cross-border exchanges and so forth, all against the background of cultural practices across the Americas with a specific focus on Canada.
