Nature and Goals of the Course

Shapes of Utopia examines relationships between concepts of imaginary worlds and forms of expression. "Very Selective Exploratory Investigations" would be an appropriate subtitle for the course. I make no pretense of offering an overview of utopian literature. (See the course packet for definitions of utopian literature.) Our study of utopian expressions is limited: (1) by my interest in American literature and culture, and (2) by the focus of the course: I selected print or electronic texts -- or experiences in the cases of historic intentional communities, museum visits, World Fairs, Disney World, Celebration City, and our possible visits to White Hawk and the Gaylord Texas Resort -- that suggest various forms of utopian expression rather than a "representative" survey of utopian literature. Despite the focus on America, we do study British, European, Middle Eastern, and Classical texts, though (unless you count my comments about Tokyo Disneyland) no Asian and no African or South American texts.

To some degree the course has a chronological organization. We begin with ancient oral narratives and conclude with the Internet. The more fundamental organizing principles relate to genre, authority, "intent" and degree of self-reflexivity. We move from texts that were often viewed as sacred and not to be questioned, to texts and experiences that offer clear divisions and choices between much better and much worse worlds, to satiric and ironic visions and critiques, to ambiguous and even multi-genre utopias before we reach the Internet.

Students will leave the course with an increased knowledge of utopian expressions, of how form shapes meaning, and of how readers, viewers, and participants shape form and meaning. They will also become acquainted with major research and critical resources. Since 1975, Utopus Discovered, the newsletter of the Society for Utopian Studies, has provided current bibliographies. Since 1990, the Society's journal, Utopian Studies, has offered articles, bibliographies, and a substantial book-review section. The articles include retrospective evaluations the scholarship. The Society hosts an annual conference. Information about the conference, the publications (with a searchable index of the journal), and student membership rates are available at the Society's Web site: www.utoronto.ca/utopia. This site is also has an excellent list of other Web sites related to utopian studies.

Required Readings (in the order in which we will read them)

A course packet of short readings (designated as SR)
Selections from Utopian Literature (ed. Johnson, designated as UL )
Looking Backward, Bellamy
Walden Two, Skinner
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Twain
Herland, Gilman
The Giver, Lowrey
Pleasantville (on video or DVD; at Blockbuster, Premier in Dallas, or www.net.flix.com)
Utopia, More
Woman on the Edge of Time, Piercy
Always Coming Home, Le Guin

Tentative Schedule, Topics, Reading, Assignments

(Note: With many of the texts I will suggest optional article and/or book readings.)

Introduction to the Course & to Resources in Utopian Studies 1/19

Readings: Roemer (SR); Sargent (SR), Levitas (SR)

Utopia in Sacred Myth and Vision 1/19, 26

Readings: Epic of Gilgamesh (SR), Genesis (UL), Exodus (SR),
Isaiah (UL), Matthew (UL), John's Revelations (UL),
St. Augustine (UL), Black Elk's Great Vision (SR),
Ghost Dance Visions (SR)

"Unambiguous" Utopian Fictions and Realities

Readings: Plato's Monologic Dialoging (Plato UL) 1/26
The Bellamy Phenomenon (Looking Backward ) 2/2
Pastoral Behaviorism (Walden Two ) 2/9
Historical and Contemporary Experiments:
Shakers, Amana, Oneida (SR ),
Worlds Fairs (slides), Disney World
Celebration City (SR),
Louis Marin's Chapter from
Utopics: Spatial Play (SR) 2/16, 23

A Hinge Between Unambiguous and Ambiguous: Museum Exhibits and Catalogues

Readings: Fitting, "Representing Utopia" (SR) 2/23

Take-Home Examination (distributed on 2/16); due: 2/23
Satiric Eutopias and Dystopias

Readings: Classic & British Pre-20th Century: Aristophanes (SR),
Johnson (UL), Swift (UL), Butler (SR) 3/2
Satire to Raw Ambivalence (Connecticut Yankee ) 3/2
Feminist Satire, Masculine Order (Herland ) 3/9
[Spring Break] 3/14-20
Classic 20th-Century Dystopias: Zamiatin, Huxley,
Orwell (all in SR) 3/23
Dystopian Fables for (young &) Adults: The Giver,
"Omelas," and Pleasantville (film; see
www.netflix.com or a video store) 3/23, 30

Ambiguous & Self-Reflective Utopias

Readings: Renaissance Antecedents: (Utopia ) 4/6
Feminist Utopias (Woman on the Edge of Time ) 4/13
Multi-Genre-Culture-Voice(Always Coming Home) 4/20, [27]

Utopia Online Presentations (see assignment below)

Visit www.utoronto.ca/utopia and www.nypl.org/utopia to begin
your search for the site you will examine.

Reading: "Utopian Rulers . . . Online" (SR) 4/[27]; 5/4
Review for Final 5/4

Research Paper Due Before 5/5 at 5 p.m.
Examination 5/11

Examinations

The take-home exam will cover through the "unambiguous" utopias and exhibits readings; the final will cover the rest of the course with the exception of the Internet section. Students will have three hours for the final exam. The take-home question(s) will be distributed on 2/16; the exam duedate is 2/23. A week before the final exam, I will distribute study sheets that indicate the nature of the question(s). The final is open book -- notes, books, and outlines are allowed. Grading criteria: thoughtful arguments consistently related to the questions and supported with appropriate examples from the readings and discussions..

Research Paper

Due 5/5; approximate length 12-18 pages. I would prefer that you focus your argument on the relationships between form and utopian expression; however, I am not requiring that. I can be more helpful if you select a text (or texts) from our readings, especially one of the American texts; you may, however, want to focus on a utopian text not assigned. Please consult with me about such a selection early in the semester. Your topic can range beyond print culture to include intentional communities, town plans, resorts, theme parks, exhibitions, films, and music (e.g., the Polyphonic Spree or the opera version of The Handmaid's Tale. Besides the usual print and electronic guides to research (e.g., the PMLA Bibliographies, American Literary Scholarship, First Search, Google), the tables of contents, book-review sections, and index (in Volume 10.2) to the Journal Utopian Studies should be helpful (the index is searchable at www.utoronto.ca/utopia). Please use MLA format. Besides articles and chapters on the text(s) you select, there are useful general studies that explore the forms of utopian expression, for example Robert C. Elliott's The Shape of Utopia; the Frederic Jameson Special Issue of Utopian Studies 9.2 (1998); Ruth Levitas, The Concept of Utopia; Gary Saul Morson, The Boundaries of a Genre; and Darko Suvin, Metamorphoses of Science Fiction. Grading Criteria: As you construct your arguments, I will expect you to be able to integrate your interpretations with relevant critical discussions of the text(s). I'm not expecting "publishable papers," but I do expect the organization, coherence, and mechanics of the paper to be on a graduate level.

Internet Presentation

Due: 4/27 or 5/4; approximately 10 minutes, hopefully in the English Department's e-create lab. Turn in a 750 - 1000-word summary of your presentation. Begin your search for a Web site using the two URL's mentioned above. Select one site; let me know which one you have selected by 4/13 so that we can avoid duplication in the presentations and so that I can enter the URL into the e-create lab computer. Your presentation should include: (1) a description of the site (e.g., What type of information is displayed? What is the "source" of the site? Is the site interactive? Does it have links to other sources? ). (2) Indicate how this site is similar to or different from other types of utopian expressions we have examined during the semester. Some of the issues relevant to these comparisons include: Are there differences in the types of topics and issues covered? How is the style of presentation different or similar? What are the similarities and differences in access, interaction, and implied audience? Are there similarities and differences in the "authority" for the claims or view points of the site? (3) What are some of the aesthetic, cultural, or ideological implications of the differences? (e.g., To what degree can Internet utopia replace other forms of utopian expression? In comparison to a print media utopia does an Internet utopia lead to or away from more thinking about or implementation of utopian ideas?)

Field Trips to Contrasting Alternative Realities

I hope to arrange optional Saturday morning tours of the White Hawk Community north of Denton and the Gaylord Texas Resort complex in Grapevine on Saturday mornings in April.

Approximate Grading Weights, Admonitions, and Encouragements

Grading Weights:

Internet Presentation 10%
First Exam 20%
Second exam 30%
Research paper 40%

Admonitions

(1) For each three unexcused absences there will be a half-grade reduction in the semester grade. (2) I have never encountered problems with plagiarism on the graduate level. If I do, the situation will be handled according to University procedures.

Encouragements

(1) I am prejudiced favorably to improvement. If grades improve, especially for the second exam and on the paper, I will weight the latter, better grades heavier that I have indicated above. (2) I am very willing to work with students with disabilities. These students should present the appropriate University documentation to me early in the semester. (3) Academic, personal, and social counseling is available through the Office of Student Success Programs (817-272-6107).

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