Utopias and dystopias are reflections of the authors’ desires and fears about the culture they live in; therefore, they are ultimately social and political critiques. Through a selection of texts from its earlier examples in narratives to its more recent uses, this course will look at characteristics of utopias and dystopias, point out their multi-faceted relationship with each other and explore how they offer critique on various issues such as power, politics, race, gender, technology etc.
Prerequisite(s)
-
Corequisite(s)
-
Special Requisite(s)
-
Instructor(s)
Assoc. Prof. Gillian Alban
Course Assistant(s)
-
Schedule
This course is not offered this semester
Office Hour(s)
This course is not offered this semester
Teaching Methods and Techniques
Lectures and discussions; students will choose a dystopic work on which to write a project.
Principle Sources
Thomas More, Utopia
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
Borges, “The Immortals”
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
Other Sources
Course Schedules
Week
Contents
Learning Methods
1. Week
Introduction
Lectures and discussions
2. Week
Utopia, an ideal nostalgia for the past or an apocalyptic future? Primitivism or projections into the unknown; Qualities sought in Utopias: Thomas More’s Utopia, (1515-16) humanism vs Catholicism
Lectures and discussions
3. Week
Jonathan Swift’s Gullivers’ Travels (1726) (including letter from Gulliver; Part I, Lilliput, up to ch. 6; Part II Brobdingnag esp. ch. 7; Part III chs. 2, 5, 10; Part IV the Houyhnhnms)
Lectures and discussions
4. Week
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (1932)
Lectures and discussions
5. Week
Brave New World; George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
Lectures and discussions
6. Week
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Lectures and discussions
7. Week
Nineteen Eighty-Four; Borges’ “The Immortals”
Lectures and discussions
8. Week
Midterm Week
9. Week
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale (1985)
Students select dystopic topic on which to write.
Lectures and discussions
10. Week
The Handmaid’s Tale
Lectures and discussions
11. Week
The Handmaid’s Tale
Lectures and discussions
12. Week
Oryx and Crake (2003)
Draft project submitted, 500 words
Lectures and discussions
13. Week
Oryx and Crake
Lectures and discussions
14. Week
Oryx and Crake
Submit final project
Lectures and discussions
15. Week
Final Exams Week
16. Week
17. Week
Assessments
Evaluation tools
Quantity
Weight(%)
Midterm(s)
1
20
Quizzes
2
20
Homework / Term Projects / Presentations
2
20
Project(s)
1
20
Final Exam
1
20
Program Outcomes
PO-1
Show knowledge of a substantial range of authors, movements and texts from different periods of literary history.
PO-2
Identify the intellectual, cultural and socio-historical contexts in which literature
is written and read.
PO-3
Employ the necessary skills in the reading, analysis and in appreciation of literature.
PO-4
Recognize, interpret, and comment on rhetorical and figurative language.
PO-5
Identify, distinguish between and assess the distinctive characteristics of texts written in the principle literary genres.
PO-6
Recall and define key terms and concepts relating to language, literature and/or culture.
PO-7
Recognize the role of different social and cultural contexts in affecting meaning.
PO-8
Demonstrate responsiveness to the central role of language in the creation of meaning.
PO-9
Recognize different structures and discourse functions of the English language.
PO-10
Display competence both in written and/or oral expression and in the
communication of ideas in a variety of contexts.
PO-11
Demonstrate critical skills in the close reading, description, interpretation,
and analysis of literary and non-literary texts.
PO-12
Use logical thought, critical reasoning, and rhetorical skills to effectively
construct arguments.
PO-13
Apply guided research skills including the ability to gather, sift, organize and
present information and material.
PO-14
Show competence in planning, preparation and revision of essays,
presentations, and other written and project work.
PO-15
Reflect on ethical and philosophical issues raised in literary, critical, and
cultural texts.
Learning Outcomes
LO-1
identify various utopian and dystopian visions
LO-2
analyse the form and content of a range of literary texts which focus on utopian and dystopian visions.
LO-3
recall the similarities and differences between the two
LO-4
develop awareness about how utopias and dystopias function as the two sides of the same coin.
LO-5
understand and comment on how utopias and dystopias serve as political, social and cultural critiques.
