Direction: Utopia

This is a course on the concept of utopia, the
history of U.S. utopian practices of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the theme
of utopia in art, music and literature. Is utopia
always shadowed by dystopia? And is it worth
pursuing anyway? A selection of U.S. religious and
socialist utopian communities of the nineteenth
century, utopian communes of the nineteen-sixties
and imaginary utopias will be considered. In
addition to writing a critical essay, students
will have the opportunity to collaborate on their
own proposal for a utopian community.