Abstract This paper addresses works and archives of transnational anarchist intellectual Marie-Louise Berneri (1918-1949), author of a neglected but very insightful history of utopias and of their spaces. Extending current literature on anarchist geographies, utopianism and on the relation between geography and the humanities, I argue that a distinction between authoritarian and libertarian utopias is key to understanding the political relevance of the notion of utopia, which is also a matter of space and geographical imagination. Berneri’s critiques to utopia were eventually informed by anti-colonialism and anti-authoritarianism, especially referred to her original critique of twentieth-century totalitarianisms. Then, I argue for a connection between anarchist, humanistic, cultural and historical approaches to geography, to extend the empirical and theoretical reach of the discipline and its relations with the ‘humanities’. This paper likewise contributes to recent scholarship on transnational anarchism, arguing that the anarchist tradition cannot be understood outside its transnational, cosmopolite and multilingual networks and concrete practices: therefore, only relational, contextual and space-sensitive approaches can make sense of its specificity.

Resumen Este articulo aborda los trabajos y archivos de la militante anarquista transnacional Maria Luisa Berneri (1918-1949), autora de un estudio poco conocido pero muy significativo sobre las historias de las utopías y sus espacios. Al ampliar la literatura actual sobre geografías anarquistas, utopismo y sobre la relación entre la geografía y las ‘humanidades’, defiendo que una distinción entre utopías libertarias y utopías autoritarias es esencial para comprender la importancia política del concepto de utopía, que es también un asunto de espacio y de imaginación geográfica. Las críticas de Berneri a la utopía se inspiraron en su anticolonialismo y su antiautoritarismo, centrado especialmente en su original critica de los totalitarismos del siglo XX. Además, propongo una conexión entre abordajes anarquistas, humanistas, culturales e históricos de la geografía para ampliar el campo empírico y teórico de la disciplina y de sus relaciones con las humanidades. Este articulo contribuye también a las investigaciones recientes sobre el anarquismo transnacional, y afirma que la tradición anarquista no puede ser comprendida fuera de sus redes transnacionales, multilingües y cosmopolitas y de sus practicas concretas. Entonces, solo lecturas contextuales, relacionales y sensibles al espacio pueden dar sentido a esta especificidad anarquista.

Resumo O texto analisa a construção de uma linha científica pelo grupo dos geógrafos anarquistas ativos entre os séculos XIX e XX, cujos representantes mais célebres foram Elisée Reclus e Pëtr Kropotkin. Os membros dessa rede eram ao mesmo tempo intelectuais e militantes, e a originalidade da sua elaboração científica destaca-se em relação à ciência da época. Interessados também em disciplinas como a sociologia, a antropologia e a pedagogia, utilizavam as ferramentas científicas das maiores correntes intelectuais do momento, como o positivismo, e sobretudo o evolucionismo, tentando levá-las a conclusões diferentes, que não justificassem as desigualdades sociais, mas, ao contrário, fossem úteis para a construção de uma sociedade mais justa.

Abstract This text examines the construction of a line of scientific thinking by a group of anarchist geographers who were active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most famously represented by Elisée Reclus and Pëtr Kropotkin. The members of this network were simultaneously intellectuals and activists, and the originality of their scientific production stands out in comparison with the science of that time. They were also interested in disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, and pedagogy, and used the scientific tools from the leading intellectual trains of thought of that era (such as positivism and especially evolutionism) in an attempt to reach different conclusions that did not justify social inequalities, but rather could be used to construct a fairer society.