Life is full of little surprises!

[lunadelcorvo]

And some of them are awesome! I got another class for fall, and the chair told me it was up to me if I wanted to just do another section of the same course, or, in his words "try something different." (That kind of trust and freedom is why I LOVE LOVE LOVE teaching at this university!) So I gave it some thought, and decided to try something completely new and different. Here's the 'official' course description:

Utopia/Dystopia
Literature is full of imagined worlds, some appealing, others terrifying. In this course we will survey Utopias and Dystopias from a variety of sources ranging from Greek myth to Thomas More’s Utopia, the plays of Henrik Ibsen to George Orwell’s Nineteen-Eighty-Four. We will also look at selected examples of utopia/dystopia from popular film and television. The emphasis will be on critical reading of literature, and a thoughtful, unbiased cultural interpretation of utopian/dystopian fiction as revealing social commentary.

In terms of contemporary relevance and critical thinking, we will consider both what an ideal world might look like (and whether such a thing is possible) and what the dystopian visions we encounter tell us about our own fears and the dangers of the societies we hold dear.

In addition to extensive in-class discussion, and several short response or reflection essays, students will apply research skills, thesis selection and argument formation to the completion of a research paper. The research project will include the preparation of a proposal and presentation of their work to their classmates in addition to the final paper.

I haven't quite decided what sort of film/TV I will bring in yet, but I am thinking Blade Runner and The Matrix for film and Dollhouse and Firefly for TV are all top contenders. For Ibsen, I think I will do either A Doll House or Hedda Gabler together with The Master Builder.

The chair said it sounded wonderful, and I am really quite psyched - these are some of my favorite works, so I am totally jazzed to be teaching them! So yeah, sometimes, life is grand!

Comments

[lucretiasheart.livejournal.com]

Damn it! Now I want to move across the country and take your class! LOVE IT!!

Another suggestion: A Handmaid's Tale (book and movie) has many dystopian topics that are pertinent to many Pro-Life movements, Eugenics, and an empire in decline, yet it was written -- what? 30 years ago?

[raven-moon.livejournal.com]

Hee, I am glad you like it! I love this program because you can do all sorts of stuff like that. Hubby does a class on The Matrix and philosophy, and he's done one on pop-culture & philosophy where he used Buffy, the Simpsons, and I don't even know what all else!

As far as Handmaid's Tale, I'm actually considering it; I love that book! In fact, I almost put in on the book list, but I figured I needed to see if I have time for it in the syllabus. It IS freshman, after all, and this school doesn't get a lot of adult students, so it's 'fresh out of highschool' freshman at that! The fact that I'm having them read Ibsen and Thomas More is daring enough, or so my colleagues tell me! Anyway, I have until mid July or so to add books before the bookstore will start to give me grief, so if I get all the other reading parceled out and have time for it I'll add it for sure.

[lucretiasheart.livejournal.com]

You'll have to let me know how that class went. It sounds like an exciting one for sure!