"A map of the world that does not show Utopia is not worth looking at... When Humanity lands there, it looks out, and seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realisation of Utopias" (Oscar Wilde).
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Introduction:
Utopia has been an important theme of western political history and literature since the first civilizations began to appear in Mesopotamia. Utopia, a perfect place and society, or "Heaven on earth," has existed in literature since The Epic of Gilgamesh. In the west, political thinkers have tried to outline utopias in order to critique the society in which they lived. Plato does this in The Republic when he records a dialogue in which Socrates describes a city in speech; a city that does not exist but would be perfect if it did take form. After Christianity swept across western Europe, it is man's state in the Garden of Eden that the west has tried to return. Of course the west has not achieved this state. In the west's search for utopia, dystopia has risen. William Golding's Lord of the Flies illustrates this clearly as Golding's lack of faith in man's nature leads him to construct, in fiction, a situation in which young boys land outside the boudaries of law. The way the boys react to this situation and the way in which the situation dissolves could be a microcosm of the international community or society itself. Without strong laws and strong arms, as Machiavelli points out in The Prince, man cannot find order, much less utopia. However, if laws and arms are needed, because man's nature is bad, then band men will control laws and teh arms that enforce them; what is left is tyranny, not utopia. Thus, as students observe the "new world order" emerging out of the Cold War, they must ask themselves whether or not the world is on the verge of finding utopia or simply reordering the same dystopia that has been such an integral part of modernity or even the west's history. It is this theme of utopia that we want the students to explore during the summer and throughout next year as we exam in an interdisciplinary manner the history of western civilization.

The Utopian-Dystopian Dichotomy:
An inherent trend of history is man's struggle to create order, only to be let down and propelled into disorder. It is this theme that we will explore throughout the year in western literature, history, philosophy, architecture, and the fine arts. By exploring key western civilizations and historical periods, we will attempt to uncover how each civilization and culture attempted to govern itself and bring order to the world around it. We will explore utopian themes in literature and the fine arts in order to better understand each civilization and culture and the way these cultures viewed perfection. However, recognizing that the west, or any culture for that matter, has not reached a state of perfection, we will also explore dystopia and the west's constant struggle to bring order to a world that appears to be inherently disordered. It is the premise of the class that to a large degree this dialectic between utopia and dystopia propels history forward and that western literature, the fine arts, philosophy, and architecture many times reflect this dialectic and thus provides the students with a cultural lens through which to better explore this theme and western civilization.

Units of Study:
The following outline identifies the major units of study that will guide the course through the year. After each unit of study, the students will explore the utopia-dystopia dichotomy as it relates to the previous unit of study in a variety of ways. Students will, depending on the unit of study, work in a group to design a presentation exploring utopia and dystopia as it relates to the particular unit of study, write a short essay exploring this dichotomy, construct a multi-media presentation exploring this dichotomy, or work on an artistic representation of this dichotomy which could include a poem, painting, musical piece, etc. The teachers will explain to the students which approach they will use for each unit of study before the students actually begin to study each unit.

Year Overview:


Unit 1- Utopia in Western Civilization
Unit 2- Ancient Hellenes
Unit 3- The Romans
Unit 4- The Medieval Period
Unit 5- The Renaissance
Unit 6- The Emergence of Modernity
Unit 7- The Rise of the Nation State
Unit 8- European Colonial Efforts in the New World
Unit 9- The Enlightenment
Unit 10- The Nineteenth Century
Unit 11- The Twentieth Century
Unit 12- Utopia and the World Today