Labor Utopias and Dystopias
A special issue of Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 3079
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Labor fundamentally shapes human existence, from our daily rhythms and social relationships to our deepest hopes and fears about the future. As global capitalism continues to redefine the boundaries between production and reproduction, the local and the global, nature and technology, and what is human and non-human, labor finds itself at the crossroads of dystopian threats—such as alienation, datafication, precarity, and environmental devastation—and utopian promises, including creative fulfillment, collective bonding, and human emancipation. This Special Issue examines how labor practices, discourses, and imaginaries oscillate between these poles, creating spaces for both oppression and liberation.
This Special Issue seeks to explore how labor practices, discourses, and imaginaries both reflect and resist the totalizing logic of market rationality. At the same time, it aims to highlight how labor gestures toward alternative forms of collective organization, community, and existence.
We welcome theoretically informed and interdisciplinary submissions that engage with labor at the intersection of other key axes of social power. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Platform capitalism and digital labor;
- Artificial intelligence, automation, and posthuman labor;
- Climate crisis and labor transformation;
- Gender, affective labor, and social reproduction;
- Labor, migration, and community;
- Alternative modes of labor from the Socialist past and the Global South;
- Labor, bodies, and health;
- Labor, religion, and spirituality.
Prof. Dr. Ping Zhu
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- utopia and dystopia
- global capitalism
- posthuman labor
- environment
- gender
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
