Episode 15: Daniel Jenkin-Smith, Bureaucracy, Utopia, Dystopia

<p>In this episode, we speak with Daniel Jenkin-Smith, who teaches at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and is an expert in English and French literature of the long 19th century. Daniel also co-hosts the spectacular <em>Save Me From My Shelf Podcast</em>.</p><p><br></p><p>In our chat with Daniel, we turn our attention to the topic of bureaucracy: what are its origins, is it fundamentally utopian or dystopian, and where does it feature in utopian and dystopian texts? With reference to Kafka&#39;s <em>The Trial</em>, Morris&#39;s <em>News from Nowhere</em>, and Orwell&#39;s <em>Nineteen Eighty-Four</em>, among other works, our chat features a number of insights on the utopian and dystopian genres.</p><p>Daniel&#39;s book, <em>The Rise of Office Literature: Bureaucratization and Aesthetics in Britain and France, 1810-1900</em> (2025) <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/rise-of-office-literature-9798765104774/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">is published by Bloomsbury</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>The <em>Save Me From My Shelf</em> podcast can be found on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/08E0jfbpsOby115cKxbpyO?si=1baf838810c94864" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Spotify </a>and all other good podcasting services.</p><p><br></p><p>Daniel can also be found at dcjenkin-smith.bsky.social</p><p><br></p><p>If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know! You can follow and rate the podcast, leave us a comment, or email us on <a href="utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠utopiananddystopianfictions@gmail.com</a></p><p><br></p>