Create Your Own
Utopia
Imagine that you are in a position to create a society from scratch. You (and your partner, if you
choose) must attempt to form a culture that is free from the troubles of current society. You must first identify
what you believe to be wrong with the world today; then you must attempt to correct those problems. Your job
is to create a persuasive product (commercial, Powerpoint, brochure, poster, song/rap, essay, etc.) that
will intice people to your utopia. Each numbered section of this assignment should be represented
somehow in your product. We will have about two weeks to work on this assignment, so work hard and put
plenty of thought and effort into each responses. All utopia products are due during the week of February
28th – March 4th during your allotted AIG class period.
1. Declaration of Independence:
a)Preamble & Statement of Beliefs: Write a statement outlining the purpose and philosophical basis for
the creation of your utopia. Include the fundamental values and goals of your society. Refer to the
preamble & statement of beliefs of the US Declaration of Independence, if you need help.
b)List of Complaints: Make a list of reasons for forming your society. In other words, what do you not
like about current society? What are your specific complaints?
2. Name your society. Your name should reflect the ideals and values of your utopia.
3. Utopian Motto: Create a slogan/motto to which inhabitants of your utopia would adhere. Look at the
examples of state and country mottoes for ideas. Again, the motto should reflect the overall ideals of
your society.
4. Utopian Animal: What animal would symbolize your utopian society? Explain your choice. You can
make up an animal as long as you have a sound explanation for what is symbolizes.
5. Rules/Rationales: Develop a list of at least ten (10) rules that all community members would follow.
Give a rationale for each rule.
6. Provisions for Life’s Necessities: Explain how you will provide the basic necessities for living in your
utopia (food, water, shelter, etc.).
7. Governing Body: How will the government of this utopia be structured? Will you have a democracy,
socialism, anarchy, a monarchy, or a dictatorship? How will decisions be made in your
utopia? How would officials or coordinators be selected? How would you deal with abuse of authority
by officials or coordinators?
8. Flag: You have a name, slogan, and animal for your society; combine all three and decide what your
flag would look like. Refer to the flags of other countries and states for inspiration. What colors would
represent your country and why? What would be on your flag? (include a completed version of your
flag, using colored paper)
***Choose two of the societal elements outlined in the “Options for Your Utopia” on the back of this
sheet. Discuss how both will be structured and organized in your utopia. How will they work? See specific
instructions on the back.***
Options for Your Utopia
Choose two of the following societal elements to include in your utopia to give as much detail about your
society as you can. Answer ALL questions as fully as possible and make sure to highlight each societal element
in your persuasive product somehow.
1. Economics, Work & Leisure – What systems will be in place for the production and distribution of
goods and services? What form of currency will you use? How is wealth distributed? Will your
economy be independent or reliant on the rest of the world? Who will do the work? What does a day in
the life of one of your inhabitants look like?
2. Science, Technology & Environment – Will you use technology in your utopia (like electricity, the
Internet)? How? What role will scientific pursuits play? What will your energy sources be? How will
you dispose of society’s wastes?
3. Religion – What role will religion play in your utopia, if any? What freedoms or restrictions will you
place on religious practices? Will you have a mandated religion or freedom to choose? How would you
deal with religious strife?
4. The Physical Structure – What sort of landscape will you have (desert, rainforest, etc)? What will
houses and buildings look like (adobe dwellings, steel sky-scrapers)? How will they be arranged? What
will the relationship between private and public space be? How and where will people live? (you should
include a rough sketch of your design)
5. Law & Order – What sort of system (or systems) will be needed to deal with those who break rules or
those who harm others? How will you address conflict resolution? How will you enforce the rules of
your society? How would your utopia deal with self-destructive behaviors? How would it deal with
conflicts between individuals? Would there be a means of private or public mediation?
6. Education & The Arts - How would children or people in general be educated? Who would be the
educators? What rights would children/people have in deciding what they learned? Would the
traditional higher education system be retained, modified, or discarded? If modified, how? If discarded,
how would your utopia conduct higher education? What value (if any) would be placed upon
education? Would your utopia encourage participation in the arts? If so, who would be encouraged?
How? Would there be any censorship of art in your utopia? If so, what would be censored? And who
would do the censoring?
7. The Media - What types of media would exist in your utopia? Who would control the media? Would
there be any censorship of the media? If so, what would be censored? Why? And who would do the
censoring? Would intellectual property be recognized in your utopia? If so, how? If not, how would
creativity be encouraged? Or would it? Why?