Humanities 122: Utopia/Dystopia
Wyatt 305, MWF 1:00 to 1:50
Spring 2009
William Breitenbach
Office phone: 879-3167
E-mail: wbreitenbach@ups.edu
Web: http://www.ups.edu/x6705.xml
Office: Wyatt 141
Office hours:
MWF 2-3, TTh 11-12
and by appointment
The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the process of scholarly inquiry by letting
you engage in it. The hope is that you will thereby become more proficient in doing what
inquiring scholars do: framing questions, making and supporting claims, and responding
critically to questions and claims advanced by other inquiring scholars. To accomplish all this,
we’ll set three subsidiary goals.
The first goal is to help you make yourself a better writer of academic expository prose—the
kind of writing that you will be called upon to do repeatedly during your years at the University
of Puget Sound. The word expository means serving to expound or explain. Expository writing
is thus distinguishable from personal reactions or musings. It is concerned with describing,
analyzing, and interpreting the words, ideas, and assumptions in a text. It is about explaining
some implication that you have found in a text, not about explaining how you feel about what you
have found there. By calling it academic prose, I do not mean to suggest that you will be learning
a kind of writing suitable only for students and scholars. Making an argument—organizing
information, developing a disputable claim, and using clear writing to persuade readers—these
are skills applicable in any future endeavor that requires you to put words on paper or on a
computer screen.
The second goal is to help you make yourself a more sensitive and sophisticated critical
reader. This goal follows naturally from the first one. Good writers have good ideas. One way
to get them is to train yourself to read closely, probing the assumptions and implications that lie
beneath the surface of difficult texts. We have plenty of difficult texts in this course, and our
encounters with them will give you frequent opportunities to practice alert, attentive, and
analytical reading and thinking. Meanwhile our encounters with each other in class discussions
will provide frequent opportunities to expound and support your insights in conversations with
other alert, attentive, and analytical readers.
The third goal is to help you learn about utopianism and anti-utopianism in western thought
and society from the ancient world to the twenty-first century. Although it might not seem so
when you’re plowing through the readings, our coverage will be very selective, making gigantic
leaps in time and space. Because I am by trade a historian of the United States, we’ll pay
particular attention to utopian thought and communitarian experiments in America. Not unique to
America, however, are the themes treated in our readings: the translation of utopian theory into
community practice; the tension between communal coercion and individual freedom; the conflict
between leaders’ authority and community members’ rights; the role of gender, family, and
private love in utopias; and the relationship of utopian communities to the outside world.
We’ll find, in the writings about utopias, attempts to answer some of the most important
questions that can be asked: What is the perfect society? Is it possible to achieve such a society?
What is human nature? Is it malleable or fixed? What is human happiness? Can human beings
live together in harmony?
Humanities 122
Spring 2009
BOOKS AND WEBSITES
These books are for sale at the Bookstore; ones marked with an asterisk are also on library reserve:
Readings Packet for Hum 122 (a photocopied course reader; listed in the syllabus as “[RP]”)
Plato, Republic, trans. G. M. A. Grube, revised C. D. C. Reeve (Hackett)
Thomas More, Utopia, ed. David Wootton (Hackett)
Voltaire, Candide and Related Texts, ed. David Wootton (Hackett)
Spencer Klaw, Without Sin: The Life and Death of the Oneida Community (Penguin)*
Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward (Dover)
Yevgeny Zamyatin, We, trans. Mirra Ginsburg (Avon)*
B. F. Skinner, Walden Two (Prentice Hall)* [two more copies remain in the library stacks]
The following optional recommended books are also available at the Bookstore:
Michael Harvey, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing (Hackett) [good on writing style]
Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, They Say / I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic
Writing (Norton) [explains how arguments are structured in academic essays]
The following book contains interesting essays about communal living and brief descriptions of
intentional communities now existing throughout the world. It is shelved in the Reference section
of the library and is also available online at http://www.ic.org:
Communities Directory: A Comprehensive Guide to Intentional Communities and
Cooperative Living (2005 ed.) Call number: HQ970. C64. 2005 Ref.
These websites have material on utopianism and intentional communities. All are on Blackboard.
http://www.utoronto.ca/utopia/. The Society for Utopian Studies, with links to other sites.
http://utopia.nypl.org/Pt1exhibit.html. New York Public Library exhibit on utopia; many links.
http://people.cornellcollege.edu/btooley/Courses/EN203Tooley/index.html. Syllabus with links.
http://www.ic.org/. Intentional Communities site, with a list of communities and many links.
http://www.thefec.org. The Federation of Egalitarian Communities.
Blackboard Website
Readings identified in the syllabus with “[Bb]” may be found online at the Blackboard website for
Humanities 122 “Utopia/Dystopia” (course ID: Hum122aSp09) at http://blackboard.ups.edu/. I’ll
also place on Blackboard the syllabus, paper assignments, many of the other course readings, and
some general advice and useful web links. If you have not previously used Blackboard, you can
find FAQs and instructions for creating an account at http://projects.ups.edu/blackboard/. The
password allowing access to the course site will be provided in class: ______________________.
PROCEDURES, REQUIREMENTS, EXPECTATIONS
Participation
This will be a discussion class. That means everyone needs to show up at every class on time
with the reading assignment completed, books and notes in hand, and ideas to talk about. To help
you get ready for class, I have provided “prep” questions in the syllabus for each session. Take
notes on the readings and the class discussions; I recommend that you reduce the main points of
each reading and each class discussion to what you can write on one index card. Always bring the
assigned readings to class, so you can refer to particular passages during discussions.
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In class be willing to put your ideas out there for classmates to endorse, challenge, and
transform. Ask a question; confess confusion; take a stand; disagree with friends; say something
rash or foolish; change your mind when presented with better evidence and reasoning. Listen
attentively and respond respectfully to what your classmates have to say. Speaking directly to
them (rather than through me) is a way of showing that you take them and their ideas seriously.
Regular, informed participation will be important in determining both the success of the
course and the grade that you receive in it. After every class, I’ll evaluate your contribution to
other students’ learning. Students who make outstanding contributions will get a 4; those who
contribute significantly will get a 3; and those who attend but say little will get a 2. (Rough
equivalents are A’s, B’s, and C’s.) Students who are not in class will get a 0 for the first three
absences; a minus 2 for the fourth, fifth, and sixth absences; and a minus 3 for the seventh and
eighth absences. After a ninth absence, students will be dropped from the class with a WF.
Papers and other graded work. Assignment sheets will be provided well before due dates. The
percentage in parentheses indicates the weight of the assignment in calculating the course grade.

Due Friday, January 30, by 4:00 at Wyatt 141: a close reading (1-2 pages) of a passage in
Plato’s Republic (0% This paper will be given written comments but no grade).

Due Monday, February 9, by 4:00 at Wyatt 141: a comparative analysis (2 pages) of a
significant similarity or difference between Plato’s Republic and More’s Utopia (5%).

Due Monday, February 16, at the beginning of class: an interpretive essay (3 pages)
answering the question, Is Candide a utopian or anti-utopian book? (15%).

Due Wednesday, March 4, in class: you will participate in a role-playing exercise on the
Oneida Community; you will also submit a brief written analysis (1 page) setting out the
background, motivation, and talking points of the character you are playing; you will also
participate in a debriefing session during class on Friday, March 6 (5%).

Due Friday, March 6, by 4:00 at Wyatt 141: an interpretive essay (4-5 pages) on bible
communism at Oneida Community (15%).

Due between Monday, March 9, and Friday, April 3, at the beginning of class: three short
papers (1 page each) responding to the day’s assigned reading. The class will be divided into
three groups, so that each group will submit one response paper per week (5%).

Due Monday, April 13, by 4:00 at Wyatt 141: an interpretive essay (5-6 pages) on a theme in
the novels by Bellamy, Zamyatin, and Skinner. If you want, you may also include the video
of 1984—or the book if you have read it recently (20%).

Due Wednesday, May 6, by 4:00 at Wyatt 141: a commentary (4 pages) about utopianism
today, drawing upon the readings, websites, and videos assigned in Unit Four (15%).

Participation: includes contributions to classmates’ learning, the tone of the classroom, and
the success of the course, as well as attendance, engagement, and daily preparation (20%).
Grading scale
Grades will be calculated on a 100-point scale. Grade ranges are: A (93-100), A- (90-92),
B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79), C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66),
D- (60-62), and F (below 60). I will round up to the next letter grade when the numerical score is
within 0.2 points of the cut-off (for example, if you make it up to 89.8, you’ll get an A-).
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Writing help
The UPS Center for Writing and Learning is located in Howarth 109. Its mission is to help
all writers, at whatever level of ability, become better writers. I want you to take advantage of
the Center’s services for one of the following papers: Candide; Oneida Bible communism;
or the novels by Bellamy, Zamyatin, and Skinner. Include with the paper some evidence of
your having met with a peer writing advisor. Make an appointment well before the paper’s
due date by calling 879-3404, emailing writing@ups.edu, or dropping by Howarth 109.
Harvard University’s Writing Center has a website with useful advice on writing academic
essays: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr [Bb]. Click on “Writing Resources” to find eighteen
online “handouts” and links to writing and reference guides. Harvard also has an excellent
booklet called Making the Most of College Writing: A Guide for Freshmen. There is a link to it
on the following webpage: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~expos/index.cgi?section=study [Bb].
Late work and missing work
If you are facing circumstances beyond your control that might prevent you from finishing a
paper on time, talk to me early. I tend to be more sympathetic before the deadline than after it.
Late papers should be slipped under my office door at Wyatt 141. Write on the title page the
date and time that you submitted it. If Wyatt is locked, you may send me the paper by email in
order to stop the penalty clock, but you must then give me an unaltered hard copy of that emailed
paper on the next day that Wyatt is open.
Late papers will be marked down one-third of a letter grade (3⅓ points on a 100-point scale)
for each day they are late (including Saturday and Sunday), with days measured on a 24-hour
clock beginning at the original deadline. For example, a late paper scored 82 (B-) would receive
78⅔ (C+) if submitted during the first 24 hours after the deadline. No paper or exam will be
accepted after 5:00 p.m. on Friday of final exams week. Students who do not submit all
graded papers will receive an F for the course.
Other policies
Normally I do not grant paper extensions or “Incomplete” grades, except for weighty
reasons like a family emergency or a serious illness. To request an exception for these or other
reasons, notify me before the deadline if possible. As appropriate, provide documentation
supporting your request from a medical professional; the Counseling, Health, and Wellness
Services (CHWS); the Academic Advising Office; or the Dean of Students Office.
Students who want to withdraw from the course should read the rules governing withdrawal
grades, which can be found at http://www.ups.edu/x4727.xml#withdrawal. Monday, March 2, is
the last day to drop with an automatic W; thereafter it becomes much harder to escape a WF.
Students who are dropped for excessive absences or who abandon the course without officially
withdrawing will receive a WF.
Students who cheat or plagiarize; help others cheat or plagiarize; mark or steal library
materials; or otherwise violate the University’s standards of academic honesty will be given an F
for the course and will be reported to the Registrar. Before turning in your first paper, read the
discussion of academic honesty in the Academic Handbook at http://www.ups.edu/x4718.xml.
Ignorance of the concept or consequences of plagiarism will not be accepted as an excuse.
In matters not covered by this syllabus, I follow the policies set down in the current
Academic Handbook, which is available online at http://www.ups.edu/x4716.xml.
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CLASS SCHEDULE
Reading assignments are to be completed before the class meeting for which they are listed.
Bring to class the syllabus, the assigned readings for the day, and your reading notes. Many of
the Readings Packet selections listed below are also available on the Blackboard website.
Unit One. In Theory: Utopia as Idea, Ideal, and Fantasy
1. Wed., Jan. 21: Introduction
Introduction to the course. No assigned reading.
Prep: Write a brief description of your own vision of utopia. What for you constitutes an
ideal society? Do you think your ideal society could work in practice?
2. Fri., Jan. 23: Defining and Designing Utopia
Humanities 122 Syllabus (This is your agreement with me. Read it!)
George Kateb, “Utopias and Utopianism,” Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1967 ed. [RP, 2-5]
Krishan Kumar, “The Uses of Utopia” in Utopianism, 95-99 [RP, 6-8]
Geoph Kozeny, “In Community, Intentionally,” Communities Directory, 2000 ed. [RP, 9-14]
Browse the Intentional Communities website at http://www.ic.org/ [Bb]. Find something
interesting on it to report to the class.
Prep: Take notes on your reading (one index card for each of the three RP selections).
Be ready to discuss the following questions: What causes utopian thinking? What
are the essential elements of utopia? How does utopia differ from other forms of
wishful thinking? Why has the word utopian come to have derisive and derogatory
connotations? What is the use of utopia? To be useful must utopianism involve
the creation of actual communities in the world? Are today’s intentional
communities properly called utopias?
3. Mon., Jan. 26: The Ideal City and Its Guardians
Plato, Republic (c. 380 BCE).
Front matter, pp. xiv-xviii (Introduction) and p. 1 (headnote to Book I);
Book II, pp. 32-33 (headnote) and pp. 43-59 (#368c-383c);
Book III, p. 60 (headnote) and 89-93 (#412c-417b);
Book IV, p. 94 (headnote) and pp. 95-101 (#419a-425e), 102-10 (#427e-434c), 121
(#444e-445e);
Book V, p. 122 (headnote) and pp. 122-141 (#449a-466d)
Prep: Do you agree that censorship and lies are justifiable means to promote social good?
What metaphors does Socrates use in making his arguments? What assumptions
about human nature and human society are implicit in them (e.g., pp. 91-93)? Your
first paper will be a close reading of a brief passage chosen from pp. 123-41.
4. Wed., Jan. 28: Philosopher-Kings and the Allegory of the Cave
Plato, Republic
Book V, pp. 148-51 (#472e-476d);
Book VI, p. 157 (headnote) and pp. 157-76 (#484a-502c);
Book VII, p. 186 (headnote) and pp. 186-93 (#514a-521b), 212 (#540d-541b)
Prep: Why should rulers be philosophers and philosophers be rulers? What is the
meaning of the Allegory of the Cave? Are philosopher-kings the victims or
beneficiaries of their position? Why are they forced back into the cave? Do you
agree that the happiness of particular individuals should be sacrificed to secure the
happiness of the whole city?
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5. Fri., Jan. 30: Constitutions and Character Types
Plato, Republic
Book VIII, p. 213 (headnote) and pp. 213-40 (#543a-569c);
Book IX, p. 241 (headnote) and pp. 241-50 (#571a-580c), 262-63 (#590d-592b)
Prep: Why and how does Socrates connect the constitutions of cities with the character of
individuals in them? When Socrates says that individuals are like cities, what does
that imply about cities and about individuals? Which concerns Socrates more—
governing the ideal city or governing the individual soul? Would you call Plato a
utopianist? Does he believe the ideal city can be created in the real world?
Paper due: A close reading (1-2 pages) of a brief passage from pp. 123-41 in
Plato’s Republic is due at my office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 30.
6. Mon., Feb. 2: More’s Utopia
Last day to drop courses without record
More, Utopia (1516), 56-60top (to footnote 15), and 86-107 (Raphael is speaking at 86top)
Optional: Wootton’s “Introduction” is good, esp. pp. 1-2, 4-5, 8-23, 25-27, and 31-34.
Krishan Kumar, “Utopia and Modernity,” in Utopianism, 48-51 [RP, 15-16]
Prep: What is Kumar’s argument about utopianism and modernity? In what ways is
More’s Utopia (the place and the book) like or unlike Plato’s Republic (the place
and the book)? The next paper will be about a significant difference or similarity
between Utopia and the Republic. Be alert for possible topics.
7. Wed., Feb. 4: Internal and External Motives and Pleasures
More, Utopia, 107-35
Prep: Is there any logic to the sequence of topics in this section of the book? Is there a
common theme that unites all the topics? If asked to do a close reading of a
passage from these pages of Utopia, which one would you choose? Why would
you choose it and what you would say about it? If you can find a passage that
contrasts with one in the Republic, you have a good start for your next paper.
8. Fri., Feb. 6: War and Religion
More, Utopia, 135-60
Prep: What did you find surprising or unexpected about More’s Utopia? Why do you
suppose it became the quintessential utopian book? What do you make of the
endings of Book One and Book Two, where the narrator “Morus” professes to be
unconvinced? Did More believe that utopia was even possible? If not, why did he
write his book? Would you want to live in either the Republic or Utopia?
9. Mon., Feb. 9: Theodicy and Optimism: The Best of All Possible Worlds
John Woolman, Journal (1759) [RP, 17]
Voltaire, Candide (1759), 1-32
Optional: Wootton’s “Introduction” is helpful, esp. pp. viii-xxiii, xxvi-xxvii, and xxix
Prep: How is Voltaire’s book like or unlike Plato’s and More’s? Compare the character
Candide to Socrates and Raphael. Compare the writing styles and the narrators’
voices. Consider the social evils that the respective authors attack. Compare
Voltaire’s and Woolman’s views on the causes and proper responses to misery.
Paper due: A comparative analysis (2 pages) of one significant difference or
similarity between Plato’s Republic and More’s Utopia is due at my office
(Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, February 9.
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10. Wed., Feb. 11: On the Road to (and from) El Dorado
Voltaire, Candide, 32-59 (If you want, you can skip pp. 51-56, from footnote 91 to 102.)
Prep: Why does the setting of the story shift from Europe to American and then back to
Europe? What is the point of the story about the girls and the apes? If El Dorado
is utopia, why does Candide leave it? How does Europe differ from El Dorado?
11. Fri., Feb. 13: Candide’s Garden
Voltaire, Candide, 59-79
Prep: Is Candide a utopian or an anti-utopian work? To answer this question, think about
some related ones: What was Voltaire’s purpose in writing the book? Does the
book ultimately convey an optimistic or pessimistic message about humans’ ability
to improve their world? Is optimism merely disguised despair—a smiling way of
saying that nothing can be made better? At the end, are the characters living in a
utopia? Which character’s philosophy does Voltaire seem to admire most?
12. Mon., Feb. 16: Is Candide a Utopia? / Is the U.S. a Utopia?
Thomas Paine, Common Sense (1776) [RP, 18-19]
Declaration of Independence (1776) [RP, 20]
Prep: Was the United States created as a utopia? Would Voltaire admire Common Sense
and the Declaration? Would Plato? We will also discuss your papers in class.
Paper due at the beginning of class: An interpretive essay (3 pages)
answering the question, Is Candide a utopian or anti-utopian book?
Unit Two. In Practice: Oneida Community as Utopian Laboratory
13. Wed., Feb. 18: John Humphrey Noyes, Perfectionist
Klaw, Without Sin, 1-56
Prep: What is Perfectionism? Why did it get Noyes kicked out of divinity school? Why
did he found a commune at Putney? Do you think that his utopianism was driven by
his theology or by his personality? Compare Noyes’s utopian vision with Paine’s.
14. Fri., Feb. 20: The Kingdom of Heaven at Oneida
Klaw, Without Sin, 57-107
Prep: Why and how did Perfectionist doctrines lead Noyes to complex marriage and faith
cures? Who joined Noyes’s communities, and why did they do so? What was the
economic basis of Oneida Community? What motivated people to keep working?
What were the leisure activities at Oneida? In what ways was Oneida a religious
response to the social and economic dislocations caused by the market revolution?
15. Mon., Feb. 23: Life as Bible Communists
Klaw, Without Sin, 108-53
Oneida Community, Mutual Criticism [RP, 21]
Prep: What were the mechanisms of social control and communal cohesion? How did
mutual criticism work? Why did its subjects enjoy it? In what ways were women
liberated by life at Oneida? How did the community solve the threat to social
cohesion posed by private families and by children? Are you more struck by
aspects of control or aspects of liberation in the lives of the Oneidans?
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16. Wed., Feb. 25: The Complexities of Complex Marriage
Klaw, Without Sin, 154-89
John Humphrey Noyes, Bible Communism, selections [RP, 22-32]
Prep: What was the theological rationale for complex marriage? What was Noyes trying
to accomplish with it? How did complex marriage work in practice? Why did the
outside world tolerate it? What problems arose because of complex marriage?
17. Fri., Feb. 27: Strains: Science and Succession
Klaw, Without Sin, 190-247
Prep: Why did Oneida stop expanding and become tribal? Why did its tone become less
religious and more scientific? What was stirpiculture? Why was it practiced?
How did it weaken the community? Why did Noyes’s authority wane? Why was it
so hard for the community to transfer authority to the next generation? Today in
class we’ll begin to plan the role-playing session for next Wednesday.
18. Mon., Mar. 2: From Community to Corporation
Last day to drop with automatic W
Klaw, Without Sin, 248-94
Prep: What caused the Oneida community to collapse? Was Oneida a success or failure?
After reading the theoretical utopias by Plato and More, what surprised you most
about this actual utopia? Given what we’ve learned about Oneida, what things
seem to be essential for a utopian community to succeed in practice?
19. Wed., Mar. 4: Role-Playing Exercise: An Evening Meeting at Oneida in April 1879
Prep: During class today we will do a role-playing exercise about Oneida. Everyone
will participate by developing and portraying a character. Bring to class your
typed character sketch (1 page) for the role that you will be performing.
20. Fri., Mar. 6: Debriefing Oneida
Prep: During class today we’ll do a debriefing of the role-playing session, and we’ll
discuss Oneida generally. Your papers on Oneida will be due at 4:00.
Paper due: An interpretive essay (4-5 pages) on Bible communism at
Oneida is due at my office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6.
Unit Three. In Fiction: Utopian and Dystopian Novels of the 19th and 20th Centuries
21. Mon., Mar. 9: After the Evolution: The Year 2000
Bellamy, Looking Backward (1888), 1-40 (Preface and chaps. 1-8)
Prep: Group A: 1-page response paper. Why is the novel set in the year 2000? List
two things that changed while Julian West slept and two things that didn’t. Why
does Bellamy make his narrator a member of the upper middle class rather than a
member of the working class? Is Bellamy reacting against Marx’s call for a
proletarian revolution? What is Bellamy’s alternative to class warfare?
22. Wed., Mar. 11: Ends versus Means
Bellamy, Looking Backward, 41-66, 73-78, 84-87, 91m-96 (chaps. 9-12, 14, 16, second ½
of 17, and 18)
Prep: Group B: 1-page response paper. Find a passage in the book where Bellamy’s
means and ends seem to be at odds; i.e., a place where specific features of his ideal
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society seem to be inconsistent with his explicit or implicit goals. Why does he
organize his society as an industrial army? What social bonds hold the society
together? What motivates individuals to serve the society? Compare life and
leisure in Bellamy’s utopia with Oneida. How do people interact with one another?
23. Fri., Mar. 13: Industrial Strength Love
Bellamy, Looking Backward, 97-102, 105-09, 119-22, 123-31, 142-62 (chaps. 19, 21, 23,
25, 27, 28). Chap. 26 (pp. 131-42) is optional.
Prep: Group C: 1-page response paper. What is the function of the love story in a
book about industrial utopia? Is Julian converted by Dr. Leete or by Edith? Does
Bellamy’s view of eugenics resemble Noyes’s? Why does Bellamy return Julian to
the 19th century in the final chapter? Why was this book so popular?
Recommended: L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
and the movie, The Wizard of Oz (1939), make interesting comparisons
to Looking Backward and to We.
SPRING VACATION: March 16-20
24. Mon., Mar. 23: The One State
Zamyatin, We (1920-21), v-xxi, 1-69 (Introduction and First through Twelfth Entries)
Video shown in class: Metropolis, dir. Fritz Lang (1927), approx. 5 mins.
Prep: Group A: 1-page response paper. List some of the dualisms that run through the
book. Choose one pair and be ready to explain what it symbolizes. Why is the
protagonist a mathematician? Compare We to Looking Backward. Is Bellamy’s
utopia more like Oneida or more like the One State? Or are all three alike?
25. Wed., Mar. 25: The Shaggy Self
Zamyatin, We, 70-147 (Thirteenth through Twenty-Fifth Entries)
Prep: Group B: 1-page response paper. Is I-330 the narrator’s savior or his devil? Is
love a form of selfishness or selflessness? Compare love in the One State with love
in Oneida and the Republic. Who is S and what does he represent? What happens
on Unanimity Day? Is there a pattern to the ordering of the book’s chapters?
26. Fri., Mar. 27: The Benefactor and the Bell
Zamyatin, We, 148-232 (Twenty-Sixth through Fortieth Entries)
Prep: Group C: 1-page response paper. Does We have a hero? Is it D-503? I-330?
O-90? the Benefactor? Is the One State a utopia or a dystopia? How would Plato,
More, Voltaire, Noyes, or Bellamy answer that question? Is life better outside the
Wall? In what ways does We break sharply with all the other books we have read?
Recommended: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) and George
Orwell’s 1984 (1949) were both influenced by We. William Golding’s
Lord of the Flies (1954) is, in a sense, about what happens to people who
live outside the One State’s Green Wall.
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27. Mon., Mar. 30: First Impressions
Skinner, Walden Two (1948), 1-76 (Optional: “Walden Two Revisited,” pp. v-xvi.)
Prep: Group A: 1-page response paper. Why are the various visitors drawn to Walden
Two? What does each represent? What is the point of the passage about the sheep
(15-16)? Why does Skinner stress seeming trivialities like tea mugs?
28. Wed., Apr. 1: The Guardian as Behavioral Engineer
Skinner, Walden Two, 77-166
Prep: Group B: 1-page response paper. What is behavioral engineering? Is it
compatible with freedom? Why does Skinner believe that its benefits outweigh its
costs? Do all utopias rest on behavioral engineering?
29. Fri., Apr. 3: The Politics of Walden Two
Skinner, Walden Two, 167-235
Prep: Group C: 1-page response paper. Can behavioral science be tested? How? Are
the residents of Walden Two happy? In a utopia based on behavioral engineering,
who gets to be the engineer? Is Frazier a Führer? Do utopias require strong leaders
like Noyes and the Benefactor? Are utopias inherently anti-political?
30. Mon., Apr. 6: Beyond Freedom: Burris’s Choice / Beginning 1984
Skinner, Walden Two, 236-301
Video: 1984 (dir. Michael Radford, 1984). We’ll watch the first 10 minutes of it today.
Prep: Who wins the debate between Castle and Frazier (240-48)? Compare the
Benefactor’s remarks to D-503 (We, 213-15) with Frazier’s remarks to Burris in
chap. 33. What do the book’s final sentences mean? Compare the ending of this
book with the endings of Looking Backward and We.
31. Wed., Apr. 8: Winston and Julia
No reading. We’ll continue watching 1984. Here are some things to think about:
Compare Winston Smith to Julian West and D-503. Why are the protagonists in utopian
works outsiders and the protagonists in dystopian works insiders? Compare Julia to Edith
Leete and I-330. How is her role as a character similar to or different from theirs?
32. Fri., Apr. 10: O’Brien and Room 101
No reading. We’ll finish watching 1984. Here are some topics: Compare O’Brien to
Frazier, the Benefactor, Dr. Leete, and the Philosopher-King. In what ways does the scene
in Room 101 reenact Plato’s Allegory of the Cave? How could Walden Two and 1984 be
published at the nearly same time and yet take such contrasting positions on utopianism?
Unit Four. In Our Times: The Continuing Quest for Utopia
33. Mon., Apr. 13: Twin Oaks and Walden Two
Kat Kinkade, A Walden Two Experiment (1973), orig. pp. v-x, 1-24 [RP, 33-49]
Prep: Jot down some of the ways that the actual community of Twin Oaks did or did not
resemble its fictional model, Walden Two. What motivated people to join Twin
Oaks? How did Twin Oaks differ from other communes of the time? We’ll also
spend some class time discussing your papers, which are due this afternoon.
Paper due: An interpretive essay (5-6 pages) on the novels and film assigned
for this unit is due at my office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 13.
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34. Wed., Apr. 15: Problems and Solutions at Twin Oaks
Kinkade, A Walden Two Experiment, orig. pp. 36-58, 101-29 [RP, 50-76]
Prep: What problems arose at Twin Oaks that Skinner had not anticipated? Which of
them most threatened the existence of the community? What solutions to them
were devised? How and why did the community’s labor system and the governing
system evolve? Did the solutions sacrifice utopian ideals in order to preserve the
Twin Oaks community? Why was Kinkade called the Apostle of Expedience?
35. Fri., Apr. 17: Community and Interpersonal Relations
Kinkade, A Walden Two Experiment, orig. pp. 130-71, 178-81 [RP, 77-99]
Prep: How did Twin Oaks deal with the threats to community posed by families and by
private love? Compare the methods of creating cohesion at Twin Oaks and Oneida.
How well did behavioralism work at Twin Oaks?
36. Mon., Apr. 20: Is It Utopia Yet?
Kinkade, A Walden Two Experiment, orig. pp. 182-90, 225-45, 266-71 [RP, 100-18]
Kat Kinkade, Is It Utopia Yet? (1994), orig. pp. 5-6, 84-90, 307-08 [RP, 119-24]
Prep: Which of the “recurrent debates” seem to you (as a student of utopianism) to have
been entirely predictable? Which ones surprised you? Why did Twin Oaks
survive? Why did Kinkade leave Twin Oaks? Why did she return to it?
37. Wed., Apr. 22: Twin Oaks Today
Tamara Jones, “The Other American Dream,” Washington Post Magazine (15 Nov. 1998)
at http://www.twinoaks.org/community/media/articles/washington-post.html [Bb]
Emily Rems, “Ecovillage People,” Bust Magazine (Winter 2003) at
http://www.twinoaks.org/community/media/articles/bust-2004.html [Bb]
Browse the Twin Oaks website: http://www.twinoaks.org/ [Bb]
Video in class: Visions of Utopia (dir. Geoph Kozeny, 2002), 11 mins. on Twin Oaks
Prep: What is Twin Oaks like today? What new directions has the community taken?
What new problems have developed? What is Kinkade’s current view of the
community that she founded? Is Twin Oaks a utopian success story?
38. Fri., Apr. 24: The Jolly Ranchers and Disney Does Utopia
Jon Dumont, “Adventures in Egalitarian Living” [RP, 125-28]
Jon Dumont, “An Urban Community Perspective” [RP, 129-30]
Michael Pollan, “Town-Building Is No Mickey Mouse Operation,” The New York Times
Magazine, 14 Dec. 1997 [RP, 131-43] http://michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=63
Website of Celebration, Florida, a neo-traditional community developed by the Disney
Corporation: http://www.celebrationfl.com/index.html [Bb]
Prep: Compare the Jolly Ranchers and Celebration as two types of urban communities.
Why did people move to Celebration? Is it a utopia? How do the problems that
developed at Celebration resemble the problems that developed at Twin Oaks?
Recommended: There are two interesting books written by journalists who moved to
Celebration for a year and then wrote about their experiences. They are The Celebration
Chronicles (1999) by Andrew Ross, and Celebration, U.S.A. (2000) by Douglas Frantz and
Catherine Collins. Copies of both books are in Collins Library.
South of Tacoma, in DuPont, there’s a neo-traditional community called Northwest
Landing. If you have the inclination, drive out there and look around. It’s about 17 miles
away, just off I-5 South. For directions see the website: www.nwlanding.com [Bb].
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39. Mon., Apr. 27: Virtual Utopia: SecondLife.com
Second Life website: www.secondlife.com [Bb]
Robert D. Hof, “My Virtual Life,” BusinessWeek, May 1, 2006, at
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm [Bb]
Janet Rae-Dupree, “Pixelanthropy: Charities Tap into Second Life,” MSNBC, Jan. 10,
2008, at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22574057/ [Bb]
Prep: Browse the Second Life website. Click on “Second Life in the News”>“read more
news” and read some of the articles in addition to the ones by Hof and Rae-Dupree
listed above. Are virtual worlds like Second Life a new kind of utopia or do they
represent the debasement and the death of the utopian impulse?
40. Wed., Apr. 29: Recent Anti-Utopian Arguments / Beginning The Truman Show
Bill McKibben, “The Posthuman Condition” Harper’s Magazine, Apr. 2003 [RP, 144-47]
Ronald M. Green, “Building Baby from the Genes Up,” Washington Post, 13 April 2008
[RP, 148-50
Video in class: The Truman Show (dir. Peter Weir, 1998), we’ll watch the first 10 mins.
Prep: Why is McKibben opposed to using genetic engineering to improve the lives of
human beings? Do you agree with him or with Green? What’s the difference—
morally or practically—between using genetic engineering versus using intentional
communities and behavioral engineering to make people’s lives better?
41. Fri., May 1: The Truman Show, continued
No reading. We’ll continue watching The Truman Show in class.
42. Mon., May 4: The Truman Show, concluded
No reading. We’ll finish watching The Truman Show and begin discussing it. Note that
the movie was filmed in Seaside, Florida—a neo-traditional planned community like
Celebration. What does this film have to say about utopianism? By ending with the
promise of a romantic reunion between Truman and Lauren/Sylvia, does the film simply
substitute one kind of utopian fantasy for another?
43. Wed., May 6: Alma Mater
Browse the University of Puget Sound website at http://www.ups.edu/
University of Puget Sound Viewbook [get one at the Admissions Office]
Prep: Does UPS stand for Utopia of Puget Sound? In what ways is a residential liberal
arts college like a utopia? Compare the idealized description of the UPS college
experience in the Viewbook with the descriptions of utopias offered by Plato, More,
Noyes, Bellamy, and Skinner. Does college life have any dystopian elements? Are
there any similarities between college life and The Truman Show?
Paper due: A commentary (4 pages) on utopianism in our times is
due at my office (Wyatt 141) by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 6.
There is no final examination in this course.
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