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Walter Benjamin's materialist perspective toward the uses of cultural technology is accessed to examine the fantastical nature of utopian thought. Overviews of Benjamin's (1999j) notions of the allegorical & dialectical images & of his (1997) concept of innervation are presented to better understand how cultural technology, particularly cinema, can be used to construct representations of reality. Benjamin's (1973) assessment of cinema's capacity to shock the unconscious & his (1998) treatment of kitsch's capacity to expand the perception of mass society are then addressed. After discussing how Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher (1999) attempts to negotiate realism & formalism, the central role of children within Ramsay's film & in Benjamin's (1929) understanding of self-alienation is considered. Several aspects of Ramsay's film are subsequently examined, eg, children's methods of play, recollections of happiness, & thoughts of escape, in order to illuminate how the film creates a utopian realism. In addition, it is argued that Benjamin's notion of self-alienation is a persistent theme in Ramsay's film. The prospects for achieving the utopianism depicted in Ramsay's film & in Benjamin's thought are also pondered. 71 References. J. W. Parker

Leading academics take a distinctive new approach to the understanding of public sociology education in this perceptive new resource. Through pedagogical case studies and inter-contributor dialogues, they develop and challenge thinking in the field. Divided into three sections on the publics, knowledges and practices of public sociology education, it looks beyond the boundaries of academia to deliver fresh responses to key disciplinary questions including the purposes and targets of sociological knowledge. For students, academics and practitioners, it is a timely and thought-provoking contribution to debate about public sociology education